Correlation between caries incidence and frequency of chewing gum sweetened with sucrose or xylitol.

The effect on caries incidence of the daily consumption of chewing gum sweetened with sucrose or xylitol was measured in 100 subjects included in the 1-year chewing gum study (Scheinin et al. 1975, Turku sugar Studies XVIII). The subjects were divided retrospectively into groups consuming 2-8 chewing gum pieces per day and their caries incidence was compared. With chewing gum sweetened with sucrose, the caries incidence increased in relation to the daily consumption of gum. In contrast, chewing gum sweetened with xylitol reduced the incidence of caries with increasing consumption.