Sugar Substitutes Do Not Equal Dental Cavities
According to the New York Times, sugar substitutes, like low-calorie sweeteners, do not have the same effect as real sugar. The bacterium that lives in dental plaque metabolizes sugar and releases acid that can break teeth enamel down. There’s also good news for those of us who can’t seem to shake chewing gum.
The British Dental Journal found that chewing sugarless gums containing certain sugar substitutes helps prevent dental decay by stimulating the saliva flow. Chewing gum without aspartame is not a bad idea if it contains another type of sugar substitute.
Noncaloric & Sugar Alcohol Sugar Substitutes
There are two types of artificial sweeteners used in foods: noncaloric sweeteners and sugar alcohols.
Some examples of noncaloric sweeteners include saccharine and aspartame, and they do not cause nearly as much tooth decay and dental cavities as real sugar. Noncaloric sweeteners are commonly used in snack foods and drinks and they generally do not add additional calories to foods. Sugar alcohols have about the same amount of calories as sugar. They are found in hard candies and chewing gums. Like other artificial sweeteners, they may also cause less dental cavities than real sugars.
In fact, chewing sugarless gum after meals is a good way to help prevent cavities. Some types of sugar alcohols include sorbitol and mannitol. Chewing gum without aspartame is ok if it still contains another type of sugar substitute.
The University of Massachusetts says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved all types of sugar substitutes. The FDA decides whether to approve sugar substitutes after looking at tests that demonstrate that the “normal use” of sugar substitutes would not cause health problems. However, these tests did not display how safe artificial sweeteners would be when ingested over a person’s lifetime.
