Dissolution of xylitol from a food supplement administered with pacifier

Methods: The food supplement tablet contained 300 mg xylitol and 0.5*10 (raise to a power 10) colony-forming units of a probiotic organism, Bifidobacterium lactis BB12 (BB12). The reference tablet contained 300 mg xylitol. Three different subject groups participated in the study: 11 adults (mean age 32 years), five children (age 6 years) and one 15-month-old toddler. The food supplements were tested in a random order. Whole saliva samples were collected from the adults during pacifier sucking. Filter paper discs were used to collect saliva samples from the children. The xylitol concentrations were determined from the saliva samples using an enzyme assay kit.

Results: In the experiments with the adults the xylitol and xylitol-BB12 tablets showed similar dissolving (p = 0.285) with no clear concentration peaks (p = 0.139). All adults showed salivary xylitol concentrations exceeding 1% at least at one collection point. For the children and the toddler 0.2% / 0.5% was exceeded.

Conclusion: Xylitol released from the food supplement, delivered with the novel pacifier, may result in salivary xylitol concentrations high enough to inhibit both mutans streptococci and otopathogenic bacteria in vivo.

The Finnish Dental Society Apollonia and the Finnish Dental Association have supported financially the study.