Clinical Trial: Effect of Erythritol and Xylitol on Dental Caries Prevention in Children

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Unknown status
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Effect of Erythritol and Xylitol on Dental Caries Prevention in Children

Brief Summary: This study aims at demonstrating the effect of erythritol and xylitol lozenges on preventing the new caries lesions and the possible remineralization effect of both polyols on incipient caries lesions.

Detailed Summary:

Rationale: Several polyols (xylitol, sorbitol, erythritol) have been shown to act as excellent sugar substitutes, especially for in-between meals food products. Most commonly they are used in chewing gums, but the recent field trials also show a clear effectiveness of xylitol lozenges. Although sorbitol is metabolized at a slower rate than sucrose and not at all by most microorganisms, it can be fermented at a slow rate by all of the mutans streptococci including S. mutans while xylitol and erythritol are considered to be non-acidogenic. It has been demonstrated in some studies that xylitol reduces to a greater extent caries rate than sorbitol, however, the scientific committee on medicinal products is of the opinion that no clear data support the concept that xylitol possesses specific effects in vivo which validate a superiority claim over other polyols.

Objective: It is believed that the benefits of sugar-free gums may be twofold; 1) decreased lactic acid production and increased salivary flow potentially leading to an increased buffering of acids in plaque and 2) increased supersaturation of saliva with the mineral ions as well as enhanced clearance of sugars from the mouth. Thus sugar substitution and salivary stimulation could, it has been argued, be equally responsible for the noncariogenicity of sugar-free chewing gum. By comparing long term effects of several polyols, on possible remineralization effect on incipient caries lesions and on preventing the new caries lesions in comparison with sorbitol,the study will help demonstrate the superiority of erythritol and eventually xylitol over sorbitol and will help demonstrate the role of sugar substitutes, beyond saliva stimulation-mediated oral benefits on dental caries prevention.Sorbitol lozenges are used as a positive control. The saliva and plaque sample analyses would reveal the possible mechanisms of the expect
Sponsor: University of Tartu

Current Primary Outcome: caries reduction [ Time Frame: 3 years ]

Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome: Depression of oral microorganisms [ Time Frame: 3 years ]

Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: University of Tartu

Dates:
Date Received: January 29, 2008
Date Started: January 2008
Date Completion: November 2011
Last Updated: February 3, 2010
Last Verified: December 2007