Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct;74(10):1153-1159.
doi: 10.1007/s00284-017-1299-6. Epub 2017 Jul 17.

Effects of Xylitol and Sucrose Mint Products on Streptococcus mutans Colonization in a Dental Simulator Model

Krista M Salli  1   2 , Ulvi K Gürsoy  3 , Eva M Söderling  3 , Arthur C Ouwehand  4
Affiliations

Effects of Xylitol and Sucrose Mint Products on Streptococcus mutans Colonization in a Dental Simulator Model

Krista M Salli et al. Curr Microbiol. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Few laboratory methods exist for evaluating the cariogenicity of food ingredients. In this study, a dental simulator was used to determine the effects of commercial sucrose and xylitol mint products on the adherence and planktonic growth of Streptococcus mutans. Solutions (3% w/v) of sucrose, xylitol, sucrose mints, xylitol mints, xylitol with 0.02% peppermint oil (PO), and 0.02% PO alone were used to test the levels of planktonic and adhered S. mutans. A dental simulator with continuous artificial saliva flow, constant temperature, and mixing was used as a test environment and hydroxyapatite (HA) discs were implemented into the model to simulate the tooth surface. Bacterial content was quantified by qPCR. Compared with the artificial saliva alone, sucrose and sucrose mints increased the numbers of HA-attached S. mutans, whereas xylitol decreased them. Similarly, planktonic S. mutans quantities rose with sucrose and declined with xylitol and xylitol mints. Versus sucrose mints, xylitol mints significantly reduced the counts of HA-bound and planktonic S. mutans. Similar results were observed with the main ingredients of both types of mints separately. PO-supplemented artificial saliva did not influence the numbers of S. mutans that attached to HA or planktonic S. mutans compared with artificial saliva control. In our dental simulator model, xylitol reduced the counts of adhering and planktonic S.mutans. The mints behaved similarly as their pure, main ingredients-sucrose or xylitol, respectively. PO, which has been suggested to have antimicrobial properties, did not influence S. mutans colonization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

K.M.S. and A.C.O. are employed by DuPont Nutrition and Health; DuPont manufactures and markets xylitol for oral health applications.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The effects of sucrose, sucrose mints, xylitol, and xylitol mints in artificial saliva (AS) on the numbers (mean and SD) of hydroxyapatite (HA)-attached and planktonic S. mutans in a dental simulator. DNA was extracted from a HA discs and b planktonic AS, and bacteria were quantified by real-time qPCR. Statistical significance (P < 0.05) is indicated by (a) compared with AS control and (b) compared with 3% sucrose and 3% sucrose mints
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The effects of xylitol, xylitol with peppermint oil (PO), and PO in artificial saliva (AS) on the numbers (mean and SD) of hydroxyapatite (HA)-attached and planktonic S. mutans in a dental simulator. DNA was extracted from a HA discs and b from planktonic AS, and bacteria were quantified by real-time qPCR. Statistical significance (P < 0.05) is indicated by (a) compared with AS control and (b) compared with 0.02% PO
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Arthur RA, Kohara EK, Waeiss RA, Eckert GJ, Zero D, Ando M. Enamel carious lesion development in response to sucrose and fluoride concentrations and to time of biofilm formation: an artificial-mouth study. J Oral Dis 2014. 2014 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Badet C, Furiga A, Thébaud N. Effect of xylitol on an in vitro model of oral biofilm. Oral Health Prev Dent. 2008;6:337–341. - PubMed
    1. Björklund M, Ouwehand AC, Forssten SD. Improved artificial saliva for studying the cariogenic effect of carbohydrates. Curr Microbiol. 2011;63:46–49. doi: 10.1007/s00284-011-9937-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bowen WH, Koo H. Biology of Streptococcus mutans-derived glucosyltransferases: role in extracellular matrix formation of cariogenic biofilms. Caries Res. 2011;45:69–86. doi: 10.1159/000324598. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bradshaw DJ, Marsh PD. Effect of sugar alcohols on the composition and metabolism of a mixed culture of oral bacteria grown in a chemostat. Caries Res. 1994;28:251–256. doi: 10.1159/000261977. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources