Effects of xylitol wipes on cariogenic bacteria and caries in young children

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of the use of xylitol-containing tooth-wipes in preventing dental caries in young children. In a double-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial, 44 mothers with active caries and their 6- to 35-month-old children were randomized to xylitol-wipe or placebo-wipe groups. The children's caries scores were recorded at baseline and 1 year. Salivary levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were enumerated at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Data were analyzed by intent-to-treat modeling with imputation for caries lesions and a linear mixed-effect model for bacterial levels. Significantly fewer children in the xylitol-wipe group had new caries lesions at 1 year compared with those in the placebo-wipe group (P < 0.05). No significant differences between the two groups were observed in levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli at all time-points. Daily xylitol-wipe application significantly reduced the caries incidence in young children as compared with wipes without xylitol, suggesting that the use of xylitol wipes may be a useful adjunct for caries control in infants (Clinicaltrials.gov registration number CT01468727).

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01468727.

Conflict of interest statement

We declare that the research project upon which our manuscript is based (1) is original, (2) is not presently under consideration for publication elsewhere, (3) is free of conflict of interest (e.g., not edited by the funding agency or organization), and (4) was conducted according to the highest principles of studies involving human participants.

Figures

Figure 1.

Flow chart of the follow-up, cariogenic bacterial infection, and caries status of the children in the study: (A) MS+ indicates numbers of children with MS infection; (B) LB+ indicates numbers of children with LB infection; (C) Caries+ indicates numbers of children with new caries lesions.

Figure 2.

Percentage of children with new caries at 1 yr and levels of logMS and logLB in children at different visits.