Occurrence of dental decay in children after maternal consumption of xylitol chewing gum, a follow-up from 0 to 5 years of age.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial follow-up
PubMed 11145360 · doi:10.1177/00220345000790111201
What was done
In a trial in Ylivieska, Finland, 195 mothers with high salivary Mutans streptococci (MS) levels received regular xylitol chewing gum, fluoride varnish, or chlorhexidine varnish. Children did not chew gum or receive varnish treatments. Children were examined annually from birth to 5 years of age for caries occurrence by clinicians blinded to the children's MS colonization status.
What was found
MS colonization in children at 2 years of age was significantly related to age at first caries attack in the primary dentition across all groups. At 5 years of age, dentinal caries (dmf) in the maternal xylitol group was reduced by about 70% compared with the fluoride or chlorhexidine groups. Absolute caries counts and confidence intervals were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
Targeting maternal oral flora with xylitol chewing gum substantially reduces caries incidence in offspring through early childhood, demonstrating effective indirect prevention via reduction of maternal-child bacterial transmission.
Limits
The abstract provides only relative percentage reductions rather than absolute caries rates, standard deviations, or exact p-values for the 5-year endpoint. The study was conducted in a single location in Finland and specifically selected mothers with high MS levels, which may limit generalizability to broader populations.
Cited by
- context In Finland, preschool programs give xylitol to children to encourage beneficial bacterial colonization of newly erupting permanent molars.