Number of infants with a caries increment (dmfs) · Infants (primary teeth)
Xylitol wipes (4.2 g/day) showed no clear difference in number of infants with a caries increment (dmfs) compared with control wipes (no xylitol) (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Infants (primary teeth)
1 finding from 1 review
Caries increment (DFS) · adults
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects (sores in the mouth, cramps, bloating, constipation, flatulence, loose stool or diarrhoea) · adults
1 finding from 1 review
Patterns of adverse effects (sores in the mouth, cramps, bloating, constipation, flatulence, and loose stool or diarrhoea) were similar for both groups. Bader 2013.
1 study · 669 participants
GRADE not reported
Adverse effects (loose stools, diarrhoea) · Infants (primary teeth; baseline about 9 to 15 months)
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects were not reported in a usable format, but the reported rates of loose stools and diarrhoea were very similar between groups. There were no serious adverse effects during the study. Milgrom 2009.
1 study · 94 participants
GRADE not reported
Caries in primary teeth (mean number of decayed primary teeth) · Infants (primary teeth; baseline about 9 to 15 months)
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children with permanent teeth (schoolchildren)
1 finding from 1 review
Caries increment (DFS), prevented fraction at 2.5 to 3 years · Children with permanent teeth (schoolchildren)
1 finding from 1 review
Xylitol chewing gum vs No treatment or non-cariogenic control
Outcome not reported · Children and adults
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children (mixed dentition; baseline about 8 years)
1 finding from 1 review
Caries increment (dmfs, primary and permanent teeth combined) · Children (mixed dentition; baseline about 8 years)
1 finding from 1 review
One study (252 children) compared xylitol (7.5 g/day) candy with control (sorbitol) candy over 36 months. The data could not be used in analysis because the authors combined primary/deciduous and permanent teeth and…
1 study · 252 participants
GRADE not reported
Caries presence in primary teeth · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
It is very uncertain whether consumption of xylitol chewing gum by women (mothers) changes caries presence in primary teeth compared with consumption of CHX/xylitol gum by women, or CHX varnish applied to… (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Child microbiological presence (any mutans streptococci colonisation) · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
Consumption of xylitol chewing gum by women (mothers) led to lower child microbiological presence (any mutans streptococci colonisation) compared with consumption of CHX/xylitol gum by women, or CHX varnish applied to…; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
RR 0.60 [0.45, 0.81]
2 studies
GRADE not reported
Mother microbiological presence (mutans streptococci colonisation level, CFU/mL) · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
Consumption of xylitol chewing gum by women (mothers) led to higher mother microbiological presence (mutans streptococci colonisation… compared with consumption of CHX/xylitol gum by women, or CHX varnish applied to…; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
defs index score · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
It is very uncertain whether consumption of xylitol chewing gum by women (mothers) changes defs index score (categories) compared with consumption of CHX/xylitol gum by women, or CHX varnish applied to… (very low certainty).
2 findings from 1 review
Thorild 2003 defs score categories (very low-certainty): 1-3 defs RR 0.48 (95% CI 0.15 to 1.54); 3-4 defs RR 0.85 (95% CI 0.18 to 3.98); >=5 defs RR 0.28 (95% CI 0.01 to 6.78); 96 participants.
1 study · 96 participants
Very low
MD -0.28 [-0.83, 0.27]
1 study · 96 participants
Very low
Dental caries · For interventions, pregnant women and mothers of infants in the first year of life; for outcomes, children up to 6 years of age
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
2 findings from 1 review
Adverse effects · Children (permanent teeth; baseline 8 to 10 years)
1 finding from 1 review
Caries increment, surface index D(M)FS · Children (permanent teeth; baseline 8 to 10 years)
1 finding from 1 review
Number of children with a caries increment · Children (permanent teeth; baseline 8 to 10 years)
Xylitol lozenges (4.7 g/day) showed no clear difference in number of children with a caries increment compared with no treatment; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Number of infants with a caries increment · Infants/young children (primary teeth; baseline about 1 to 3 years)
Xylitol sucking tablets (1 g/day) showed no clear difference in number of infants with a caries increment compared with no treatment; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review