XYLITOL
Xylitol is a naturally occurring sweetner found in many fruits and vegetables and is even produced by the human body during carbohydrate metabolism. It is also manufactured frofm natural sources such as birch wood, and has the same sweetness as sugar as well as unique dental benefits. It is widely used in sugar free chewing gum, candies and oral hygiene products.
Xylitol has been proven to reduce the incidence of tooth decay. In addition, mothers could substantially improve their children's dental health by the simple process of chewing sugar free gum sweetened with Xylitol themselves. Studies have shown that the children of mothers who regularly use Xylitol sweetened products have up to a 70% reduction in the occurrence of tooth decay compared to those children whose mothers who do not use Xylitol products.
It has also been shown that the use of Xylitol has the added benefit of reducing the occurrence of acute otitis media, the most common ear infection in children.