 We've been waiting for a gum that combines the cavity fighting sweetener xylitol and the remineralizing power of amorphous calcium phosphate. That wait is now over with Trident's new Xtra Care gum. It's now our highest recommended chewing gum...with some reservations.
Xylitol is a plant sugar, belonging to a family of sugars called poly-ols. These natural sweeteners cannot be readily metabolized (processed) by your body, or by bacteria that live in your mouth. As a result, you get little or no calories, and the bacteria get little or no food. Until recently, the most common poly-ols used were mannitol and sorbitol. Unfortunately, they're not quite as sweet as table sugar. Xylitol has the sweetness of table sugar, and one huge additional bonus. Not only is xylitol non-cariogenic (doesn't cause cavities), it's also cariostatic (actively inhibits decay). Xylitol actually causes bacteria to burn more energy processing it than they actually get from it. As a result, it actually reduces the amount of strep. mutans, the bacteria responsible for starting all cavities. In clinical studies, people who chew xylitol sweetened gums have statistically significant reduction in the amount of cavities.
ACP is short for amorphous calcium phosphate. It's a highly bio-available form of calcium. Calcium and phosphate are wrapped in a casein protein carrier. This packages calcium much like arrives in dairy products. As a matter of fact, casein is a protein found in milk, and derived from milk. When calcium is introduced to your teeth in ACP form, it is highly, highly efficient at absorbing into the enamel.
Trident Xtra Care is the first gum to combine both these ingredients. Because it has both our favorite gum ingredients, we recommend it for the vast majority of our patients, with a few reservations:
1) Expense - it's $1.29 for 14 pieces; which makes it one of the more expensive mass market brands. Again, neither of these two ingredients are cheap compared to the typical high fructose corn syrup you typically get
2) Asparatame - it still contains Nutrasweet as an ingredient. Phenylketonurics, a small percentage of the population, still have bad reactions to asparatame. If you can't have Diet Coke, you can't have this gum, or most sugarless gums for that matter. We would recommend 100% xylitol sweetened gums in this case. Trident, if you're listening, it's time for 100% xylitol sweetened gums.
3) Milk allergies - the casein used to make the calcium and phosphate highly bioavailable also triggers milk allergies. If you're allergic to dairy products, do not use this gum, either.
So for the 98% of us who can tolerate milk, Nutrasweet, and $1.30 for a pack of gum, this is a great product. Highly recommended.
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