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Although consuming this ingredient can put you at risk for digestive issues, one potential xylitol benefit seems to be its ability to improve oral health.

This appears to be widely held by most health care professionals and dentists. In fact, the dental community is one of its biggest supports of xylitol because of its reported ability to prevent cavities.

For example, according to a study published in the Journal of Dental Education, “The replacement of sucrose with sorbitol and xylitol may significantly decrease the incidence of dental caries.”

Research tells us that xylitol may be able to help prevent cavities because it cannot be metabolized by plaque bacteria, unlike other forms of sugar. This means that it can have beneficial effects on the oral flora (microbes living in your mouth) not shared by other sweeteners.

Because mouth bacteria can’t use xylitol as a source of energy, it may help prevent tooth decay (such as bacteria like Streptococcus mutans) and the buildup of plaque on your teeth.

Interesting, there are conflicting reports, and we cannot jump to the conclusion that xylitol is completely effective at keeping cavities at bay. In the words of a frequently cited review in the journal Caries Research, “There is no evidence for a caries-therapeutic effect of xylitol,”which makes us wonder what side of the coin to believe.

Overall, sugar-free xylitol chewing gum and the amount used to sweeten toothpaste or mouthwash seems to be relatively harmless, but it’s still not recommended to consume this ingredient in large amounts from foods.