Caries in 4-year-old children after maternal chewing of gums containing combinations of xylitol, sorbitol, chlorhexidine and fluoride.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of maternal use of chewing gums containing combinations of xylitol, sorbitol, chlorhexidine and fluoride on caries prevalence in a group of mother's 4-year-old children.


METHODS
Randomised controlled trial.


METHODS
After screening 416 women with newborn babies, 173 mothers with high counts of salivary mutans streptococci (MS) were randomly assigned into three experimental chewing gum groups containing A) xylitol (n=61), B) chlorhexidine/xylitol/sorbitol (n=55), and C) sodium fluoride/xylitol/sorbitol (n=57). The intervention started when each child was 6 months old, was terminated one year later. All of the mothers were instructed to chew one piece of the appropriate gum for 5 minutes, three times a day. The outcome measure was the presence of cavitated and non-cavitated (enamel) lesions in the primary dentitions of the children at the age of 4 years.


RESULTS
The drop-out rate in the experimental groups was 15-20%. The mean defs, on examination at aged 4 years was 0.4 +/-1.0 in group A, 0.7 +/-1.7 in group B and 1.4 +/-3.0 in group C. The difference between group A and C was statistically significant (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Less caries was observed in children of mothers who chewed gums with xylitol as the single sweetener during the time of eruption of the first primary teeth compared with those who used gums containing fluoride, sorbitol and lower amounts of xylitol.
Thorild
I
I
Public Dental Clinic, Varberg.
Lindau
B
B
Twetman
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002638:Chewing Gum; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014993:Xylitol / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D002638:Chewing Gum; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005460:Fluorides, Topical; D013012:Sorbitol; D002710:Chlorhexidine; D014993:Xylitol