LONG-TERM EFFECT OF XYLITOL CHEWING GUM IN THE PREVENTION OF DENTAL-CARIES - A FOLLOW-UP 5 YEARS AFTER TERMINATION OF A PREVENTION PROGRAM

About 65% of the original 258 children who participated in 1982-1984 i n a caries prevention program involving the use of xylitol chewing gum were retrieved in 1989 for a follow-up study. Ninety-five subjects fr om the original xylitol (X) group and 70 subjects from the original co ntrol (no-gum, C) group were available. In 1984, when the children com pleted the program at the age of 13-14 years, the caries scores were s ignificantly lower in children who had used xylitol gums daily, compar ed with the C group. In 1989, 5 years after the discontinuation of the gum program, the difference between the X and C groups had continued to increase in favor of the X group. These effects were explained by a ssuming that the X gum program had facilitated the establishment of a low-virulent bacterial flora on the surfaces of the teeth, and especia lly on those teeth that erupted during the trial proper. This type of results are possibly helpful when evaluating cost-benefit ratios of ca ries prevention.