If you’re like most people, there’s a good chance you’ve been brushing your teeth daily for years because your parents told you to. Have you ever wondered why?
When we eat, especially foods that are high in sugar, the bacteria in our mouth get a boost of energy and start producing acids that eat away our tooth enamel. This goes on for as long as half an hour after we’ve stopped eating! Then, as our tooth enamel gets thinner, we eventually end up with tooth decay and cavities.¹
It’s a natural process
Xylitol, on the other hand, has almost the opposite effect:
- The body naturally makes a few grams of it every day as part of its metabolic process. Although this usually happens in the gut, it means that our body at least recognises it when we add it to our diet.³
- When used as a sugar replacement, xylitol helps to keep the pH in our mouth neutral, and bacteria can’t digest it so their growth is restricted.²
- It even makes it difficult for the bacteria already in our mouth to stick to our teeth.²
It’s also naturally healing
Science has now discovered that xylitol actually helps rebuild our tooth enamel by making our saliva more alkaline.¹ This allows the natural healing properties of saliva to do their job and start to repair cavities.¹ How amazing is the body?!
Obviously the ideal is to cut out sugar completely (and definitely keep brushing our teeth), but xylitol’s properties mean that even if we do eat a moderate amount of sugar, if we use products like Suganon Xylitol as well, the usual effects of sugar on our teeth will be limited.³
It’s like an antidote to sugar. Now isn’t that something the modern world can use!
Image credit: Gromovataya via Pixabay
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Adcock Ingram Healthcare (Pty) Ltd. Reg. No. 2007/019928/07. Private Bag X69, Bryanston, 2021, South Africa. Tel. +27 11 635 0000 www.adcock.com. 1016961 01/2017.
