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Sorbitol compared with xylitol in prevention of dental caries
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, USA.
Objective:
To summarize published data on the comparative efficacy of sorbitol and xylitol for prevention of dental caries.
Data Sources:
Published double-blind comparative trials, using sorbitol and xylitol products, identified by MEDLINE (January 1966-December 1998) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (January 1970-December 1998) searches.
Data Synthesis:
Clinical trials generally used sorbitol and xylitol gums, which patients chewed three to five times daily for 20-40 months. Xylitol was superior to sorbitol in two longer, secondary dentition trials (30-63% reductions), but not in two primary dentition trials.
Conclusions:
The data suggest that xylitol-containing gums may provide superior efficacy in reducing caries rates in high-risk populations.