Dept. of Operative Dentistry CB#7450, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC 27599-7450, USA.
BMC Oral Health. 2010 Sep 29;10:22. doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-10-22.
Dental caries incidence in adults is similar to that in children and adolescents, but few caries preventive agents have been evaluated for effectiveness in adults populations. In addition, dentists direct fewer preventive services to their adult patients. Xylitol, an over-the-counter sweetener, has shown some potential as a caries preventive agent, but the evidence for its effectiveness is not yet conclusive and is based largely on studies in child populations.
METHODS/DESIGN: X-ACT is a three-year, multi-center, placebo controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial that tests the effects of daily use of xylitol lozenges versus placebo lozenges on the prevention of adult caries. The trial has randomized 691 participants (ages 21-80) to the two arms. The primary outcome is the increment of cavitated lesions.
This trial should help resolve the overall issue of the effectiveness of xylitol in preventing caries by contributing evidence with a low risk of bias. Just as importantly, the trial will provide much-needed information about the effectiveness of a promising caries prevention agent in adults. An effective xylitol-based caries prevention intervention would represent an easily disseminated method to extend caries prevention to individuals not receiving caries preventive treatment in the dental office.
ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT00393055.
成年人的龋齿发病率与儿童和青少年相似，但很少有龋齿预防剂被评估用于成年人。此外，牙医为他们的成年患者提供的预防服务较少。木糖醇是一种非处方甜味剂，已显示出作为龋齿预防剂的一些潜力，但它的有效性证据尚不完全确定，主要基于儿童人群的研究。
方法/设计：X-ACT 是一项为期三年的多中心、安慰剂对照、双盲、随机临床试验，旨在测试每日使用木糖醇锭剂与安慰剂锭剂对预防成人龋齿的效果。该试验将 691 名参与者（年龄 21-80 岁）随机分配到两个治疗组。主要结局是龋齿的增量。
这项试验应该有助于通过提供低偏倚风险的证据来解决木糖醇预防龋齿总体有效性的问题。同样重要的是，该试验将提供关于在成年人中使用一种有前途的龋齿预防剂的有效性的急需信息。有效的基于木糖醇的龋齿预防干预措施将代表一种易于传播的方法，将龋齿预防扩展到未在牙科诊所接受龋齿预防治疗的个体。
ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT00393055。
