The Effects of Non-nutritive Sweeteners on the Cariogenic Potential of Oral Microbiome

Abstract: Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are sugar substitutes widely used to reduce the negative health effects of excessive sugar consumption. Dental caries, one of the most prevalent chronic diseases globally, results from a pathogenic biofilm with microecological imbalance and frequent exposure to sugars. Some research has shown that certain NNSs possess less cariogenic potential than sucrose, […]

Effect of continuous sweet gustatory stimulation on salivary flow rate over time

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to determine changes in saliva secretion and subjective taste intensity during a sustained period with continuous gustatory stimulation. Design: Twenty-two healthy adults participated in this study. The selected taste solutions were aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium, which are nonnutritive sweeteners. The concentrations of sucralose1 and acesulfame potassium were set to show the […]

The unbearable sweetness of sugar (and sugar alternatives)

Abstract There is a lot of confusion among the general public around sugar, sweeteners, ‘no added sugar’, ‘naturally occurring sugars’, ‘free sugars’ and sugar alternatives such as Xylitol. We commissioned Elaine Gardner of the British Dietetic Association [the other BDA!] to sort fact from fiction and provide advice that you can share with your patients […]

Consensus statement on benefits of low-calorie sweeteners

Summary A Panel of independent experts was convened to discuss the evidence for benefits of Low Calorie sweeteners (LCS) in five key areas. The Consensus Statement represents an agreed position by all members of the Panel. Appetite Low calorie sweeteners do not increase appetite and have no discernible effect on satiety. Preference for sweetness is […]

Role of Sugar and Sugar Substitutes in Dental Caries: A Review

Abstract Dental caries is a chronic disease which can affect us at any age. The term „caries“ denotes both the disease process and its consequences, that is, the damage caused by the disease process. Dental caries has a multifactorial aetiology in which there is interplay of three principal factors: the host (saliva and teeth), the […]

Nonnutritive, low caloric substitutes for food sugars: clinical implications for addressing the incidence of dental caries and overweight/obesity

Abstract Caries and obesity are two common conditions affecting children in the United States and other developed countries. Caries in the teeth of susceptible children have often been associated with frequent ingestion of fermentable sugars such as sucrose, fructose, glucose, and maltose. Increased calorie intake associated with sugars and carbohydrates, especially when associated with physical […]

Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to intense sweeteners and contribution to the maintenance or achievement of a normal body weight (ID 1136, 1444, 4299), reduction of post-prandial glycaemic responses (ID 4298), maintenance of normal blood glucose concentrations (ID 1221, 4298), and maintenance of tooth mineralisation by decreasing tooth demineralisation (ID 1134, 1167, 1283) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

Abstract The claimed effects are “dental health/sweeteners cannot be fermented by oral bacteria, they are non-cariogenic”, “foods which under typical conditions of use are neither cariogenic nor erosive, help maintain healthy teeth and are, therefore, toothfriendly”, and “dental health”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. In the context of the proposed […]

Effect of after-meal sucrose-free gum-chewing on clinical caries

Abstract Previous in situ and in vitro studies have demonstrated that the chewing of sucrose-free gum after eating reduces the development of dental caries. To investigate the extrapolation of these findings to the clinical setting, we conducted a two-year study on 547 schoolchildren in Budapest, Hungary. Subjects in the „Gum“ group were instructed to chew […]

The effect of chewing sugar-free gum after meals on clinical caries incidence

Abstract To determine the effect of chewing sugar-free gum on caries incidence, the authors conducted a randomized clinical study. A total of 1,402 children in Puerto Rico, in grades 5 through 7 at baseline, completed the study. They were randomized by classroom into a control group or chewing gum group; those in the gum group […]

Advances in non-caloric sweeteners with dental health advantages over sugars

Abstract Many factors have to be considered in developing new intense sweeteners to replace sugars in the diet for the benefit of dental health. These include their general properties, safety and toxicological evaluation, metabolic fate in the body, regulatory status and dental research documentation. The choice of new sweeteners with improved properties is expanding, with […]