There is significant evidence that chewing sugar free gum after meals can help reduce cavities.

My stance on xylitol gum is this: If you are giving your children gum already, do it after meals. If you are similar to my wife and worried about gum getting into the kids’ hair, no need to start. The other prevention principles are more important. Having said that, let’s discuss gum.

Saliva helps rinse away the acids that bacteria make after eating. Chewing any sugar free gum can help increase saliva flow, and thereby increase the body’s natural defense against cavities. So, if you give your older child or yourself gum, do it right after meals.

Xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, oh my! Sugar alcohols, (basically any of those ingredients that you see that end in -ol), are naturally occurring sugar substitutes that cannot be processed effectively by the bacteria that produce cavities. That is why they have sorbitol, xylitol, and other sugar alcohols in gum. It makes them “sugar free.” Sugar alcohols are more natural than chemicals like aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose. If I am going to do a sugar substitute, I would err on the side of natural. (In moderation, of course.) Even sugar alcohols have side effects, like gassiness, if you have too much of them.

If you want to be extra cool, use 100% xylitol gum. Evidence suggests that xylitol is a special sugar alcohol, that interferes more with the cavity causing bacteria. Xylitol can be extracted from the tree sap of birch trees. If you get high enough levels of xylitol, whether from gum or other xylitol containing products, it may reduce the onset of cavities even more profoundly.

Conclusion: Xylitol gum is not necessary for most kids in cavity prevention, but a good extra tool to use, and a little step above other sugar free gum if that is part of your routine. To get the most benefit, use it after meals