Nametag, thanks for straightening that out. From my viewpoint, it’s just hard to fathom how emphasizing the beneficial effects of xylitol would be a “disastrous way to sell chewing gum”, but I guess I just don’t understand the American chewing gum market as well as I’d like to.
Where I come from (Finland, surprise surprise) xylitol products have a 96% share of the chewing gum market. The market leader’s slogan “A Smart Habit” is probably the best bit of advertising in the history of Finnish consumer products; there isn’t a child, teen or adult among our population of 5,5 million who doesn’t believe that it is indeed a smart habit to chew on xylitol gum after a meal to “stop the bacteria attack” as the advertisers have long told us.
Having been brought up that way, to me it seems like a “disastrous” idea to try to sell anything other than xylitol chewing gum. Besides, after years of brainwashing, we Finns tend to think that xylitol gum tastes significantly fresher than the alternatives.
As if that wasn’t good enough for the xylitol peddlers, there’s now good research indicating that xylitol also prevents ear infections (otitis media)… adding another reason why I find it strange that the big players on the U.S. market are not making a bigger deal of it.
Trident had a campaign about chewing gum after eating to remove plaque and freshen breath and fight cavities, but they didn’t get into the details. Which leaves me with the impression it doesn’t matter so much what gum you chew as that you do chew gum (“when you can’t brush”). Of course that’s sugarless gum, because sugared gum is just putting more sugar on the teeth.
So what is it about xylitol that makes it better than other sugarless gums? I mean, other than the fact that Nutrasweet tastes like crap, and saccharine causes cancer?
Xylitol is a polyol, which is to say that it’s the straight-chain form of a sugar called xylose. Sugars are present in nature as rings or pairs of rings. Unlike artificial sweeteners, xylitol is only about as sweet as sugar (very roughly), so it’s a fairly major constituent of the toothpaste or gum that it’s in – up to 10 or 20%, IIRC. Due to its structure it can’t be metabolized by bacteria, so it doesn’t promote tooth decay. Sorbitol and mannitol are similar polyols that are used the same way, and all three are used in Trident.
Some studies have shown that xylitol can inhibit the growth of certain bacteria: Streptococcus mutans, in particular, which is an important cause of cavities. Xylitol did indeed reduce cavities in children who chewed xylitol-sweetened gum in a study, but I haven’t seen the studies. I’m fairly certain that trying to market chewing gum (a “fun” product in the U.S.) as an actual dentifrice would require considerable changes in American perceptions, as well as the FDA’s attitude.