Being in the tooth and gum care business, we read lots of studies on dental subjects.
It makes me think about how little I knew about fluoride and xylitol a decade ago.
Now, when friends and customers ask why Complete Oral Care uses xylitol and is fluoride-free, I ask, “How much do you really know about these two dental preventatives?”
Let's discuss why we are committed to xylitol as the superior ingredient.
as supported by the improvements in our customer's oral checkups.
Typical decay prevention here in the USA is based on brushing with fluoride toothpaste, flossing and perhaps mouthwash. But actually, this isn’t working very well. Many USA dentifrice companies are highly invested in and focused almost solely on fluoride in their formulations, while much of the rest of the world has sought better alternatives.
One article we read from Spear Education, a dental education group, discussed how, based on fluoride, many dentists have a few child patients who are cavity-free, but nearly 100% of their adult patients have experienced some type of dental disease, such as cavities or gum problems. However, when it comes to kids using fluoride, a concern is that there is a well-established connection between this chemical and dental fluorosis, those white steaks or specs on the tooth enamel caused by our youngsters using fluoride.
Studies on fluoride are ongoing, especially on the subject of excess fluoride. This is one of the reasons why so many people in the USA now refuse to drink tap water, but instead filter out the fluoride along with other chemicals. In 2014, fluoride was documented as a neurotoxin and listed as possibly hazardous to child development. Have you noticed the influx of fluoride-free “children’s toothpastes” on the market?
Fluoride is continuously being studied for its connection to arteriosclerosis,
arterial calcification, high blood pressure, myocardial damage, heart failure, early puberty, ADHD … and the list goes on. Keep in mind, much of this is based on excess fluoride and the studies are still ongoing, but still these are strong considerations in selecting how to address prevention of dental problems.
Simply stated, our affair with fluoride is letting us down.
We are not recommending that you disregard your dentists’ advice to use fluoride,
but we want for you to know that there is a wonderful alternative so you can make an intelligent, informed choice.
Unlike fluoride with its negative or potentially-negative side effects, xylitol actually has positive side effects. According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), beyond dental applications, xylitol is connected to positive stimulation of our immune systems, digestion, and lipid and bone metabolism. Plus it can help with glycemic control and obesity, reduces ear and respiratory infections, and has even been used to cure diseases that weren’t cured by antibiotics or surgery!
In short, xylitol is very good stuff!
There are probably over 1,000 research articles published about xylitol. But here in the USA, we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to having xylitol be a part of our strategy to prevent dental problems.
Almost 50 years ago, the first dental research on xylitol, which was based
on foods sweetened with xylitol rather than sugar, showed a 50% drop in dental plaque levels.
From there, studies sprung up on all sorts of connections between dental health and xylitol. One conclusion was that using xylitol sweetened candy several time daily reduced cavities better than fluoridated toothpaste!
Xylitol gum is also a good alternative, if used repeatedly throughout the day, everyday. In some countries, it’s actually hard to find gum sweetened with sugar because the use of xylitol is so popular. Unfortunately, the USA is not one of those countries.
So, the problem becomes, here in the USA, how do we accomplish having our teeth and gums exposed to xylitol sufficiently to reduce cavities and gum disease? Won't any toothpaste with xylitol do? No, unfortunately, because the teeth and oral surface are only exposed to xylitol for a minute or two, then rinsed away, leaving almost zero lasting protection.
That’s where Med-Actil comes into play.
Our manufacturer devised a way to have xylitol adhere to our oral surfaces so that using Complete Oral Care with Periactil twice daily provides more xylitol protection than repeated use of xylitol toothpaste, candies or gum. We call it Xyli-Bond.
After using Complete Oral Care with Xyli-Bond, our customers report extreme improvements in not only cavity prevention, with fewer or NO cavities during their checkups, but also an elimination of bleeding gums, improvement in periodontal pockets (those scary spaces between teeth and gums where bacteria can infiltrate the entire body), reduced or eliminated sensitivity, a reduction in dry mouth, and
great breath.
We call it “Complete” Oral Care for many reasons …
and the effective use of xylitol as a cavity preventative is definitely one of those reasons. Complete Oral Care is the ONLY product on the market with Xyli-Bond whereby xylitol can work to its full potential.
Got more questions about fluoride or xylitol? Feel free to contact us!