Rinsing and brushing teeth with xylitol sugar

My teeth feel rougher after sucking a xylitol candy or rinsing with xylitol.

This phenomenon is occasionally observed after ingestion of certain foodstuffs such as chocolate. The likely explanation is that xylitol loosens very thin (invisible) bacterial films and makes them swell.

Suggested courses of action:

1. Rub off these rough films with your finger.

2. Suck or rinse with xylitol a second time. These layers should dissolve in a few minutes, making the teeth smooth again as usual after xylitol use.

3. Wait until saliva and tongue have smoothened the teeth by themselves.

4. Brush teeth with xylitol or something similar.

A similar phenomenon is the occasional appearance of a "blunt" feeling in your mouth but which will disappear again.

So far, I've had no success rinsing/brushing my teeth with xylitol.

There are several virtually "infallible" techniques of increasing the tooth-friendly effect of xylitol.

1. Brushing and/or rinsing for longer periods of time.

2. Increasing the frequency of application (i.e. more than 2-3 times a day).

3. Increasing the xylitol dose.

4. Using a small hard toothbrush to brush the xylitol-saliva-mix over your teeth.

5. Regular, daily application.

As dentist Dr. Bruhn writes, even with many hundreds of patients, he has never seen the xylitol treatment fail as long as the above advice was consistenly followed. For instance, using a dose of 5 g of xylitol 3 times daily and for 2 weeks invariably led to a sweeping improvement in the patient's oral condition.

Subsequently, they continued on a strongly reduced maintenance dose since apparently the bacteria, once suppressed in this manner, can be kept under control using little xylitol.

Even the plain xylitol sugar is too expensive for me.

Tip: form a "buying club" with others and order in bulk after shopping around (besides the better known ones, there is an amazing array of lesser-known online shopping venues available, ranging from Artfire, Atomic Mall, Blujay, Bonanza, Craigslist, eBid.net, eCrater, Etsy, iOffer, Oztion, Rubylane, Tias.com and Webstore.com to Zibbet.com).

In this way, you can obtain xylitol quite inexpensively (such as for 6 EUR a kg). Incidentally, having one professional tooth cleaning done^[1] already costs more than an entire year of xylitol use.

Xylitol hurts my mouth.

Remedy: start with a lower xylitol dose to reduce its concentration. Since this appears to be a purely temporary experience, you may wish to simply bear with it until it no longer occurs.

Can I use xylitol exactly like a toothpaste (with the same feel and consistency)?

Normally, you would simply use the xylitol like a tooth powder, i.e. dipping your wetted brush in, then brushing as usual. To use xylitol powder as a paste, mixing with water alone will of course not work. To create a paste-like consistency, you have to mix the powder with a "pasty" substance such as virgin coconut oil (VCO), which additionally boasts other dental health benefits (see Self-made toothpaste based on virgin coconut oil).

My tongue starts to burn when I rinse with xylitol.

Tongue sensitivity can have several reasons, for instance lack of iron, vitamin B12 and B2, too much iodine, gluten sensitivity, massive fungal infection etc. It would seem advisable to look for the possible causes such as any nutrient deficiencies - a healthy tongue should not overreact to a concentrated sugar solution.

Until the real cause has been found and eliminated, it is advisable to reduce the xylitol dose used at each application and thus lower the concentration of the saliva-xylitol-mix to a tolerable level.

My sensitive tooth necks hurt when rinsing with xylitol.

Dentist Dr. Bruhn writes that so far he knows of no better-working remedy for sensitive teeth than xylitol which desensitizes tooth necks more rapidly and permanently than any other treatment he is aware of.

To overcome any possible pain that might arise initially when rinsing with xylitol (also due to its natural cooling effect), it is recommended to take the xylitol mixed in warm water or to start with lower xylitol doses per application and only gradually and carefully increase the amount; it's also better to wait until the xylitol has dissolved in your mouth before starting to properly rinse and strain it through your teeth.

General toothbrushing tips: toothpaste, particularly smokers toothpaste, can wear away some of the tooth surface. Use with caution, don't press the brush too hard, avoid overly hard bristles. Consider using xylitol gel exclusively for your dental hygiene. (More about xylitol gel under Xylitol gel for the dental care of people with special needs, disabilities etc.)

Tip: even hypnosis can allow very sensitive teeth and exposed tooth necks to become pain-free.

Could xylitol use lead to a change in color in porcelain crowns, veneers etc.?

Xylitol has always cleaned ceramics very well and has not discoloured them.

Help, I find xylitol too sweet/disgustingly sweet.

Perhaps the suggested amount is too much in your case. You might also want to try mixing the xylitol with something else before rinsing with it, maybe vegetable juice or some bitter-tasting herbal powder (such as one that simultaneously works as a disinfectant, adds minerals etc.).

How well does the oral mucosa tolerate xylitol?

Experiences so far have been highly positive, confirming that without exception, the mucosa tolerate it very well. In fact, even chronically inflamed gums that had been swollen for years have regenerated after only two months of xylitol application.

Can I rinse my mouth before/after a tooth extraction?

You can rinse with xylitol both before and after tooth extractions without any hesitation. In fact, it would be best to start several days pre-surgery.^[2]

Tip for those who doubt Xylitol's tooth cleansing effect

Put 1 teaspoon of xylitol in your mouth, rinse with the dissolved xylitol-saliva-mix for five minutes, make sure to vigorously swish through your teeth. Spit and feel with your tongue. You will notice the smooth and clean feeling on your teeth for hours.

If (particularly the cheaper-priced) xylitol is frequently made from GMO corn, isn't that dangerous for my health?

This seems unlikely since xylitol as a chemically pure product does not retain ANY original particles from the substance it was made of. In other words, avoiding xylitol made from GMO corn would be more of a political statement (which is certainly important in my eyes).

Also see Buying xylitol sugar from non-GMO/GMO-free sources/not made from corn in China and Are there any safety issues with xylitol?.

Where can I buy xylitol in all confidence on the internet? I couldn't find a store in my city which sells this product.

There are a great number of sellers on the internet and many of them use various labels showing their trustworthiness such as the www.trustedshops.com label. If you don't have confidence in those either, I would use huge platforms such as Ebay.

As regards xylitol quality, see Are all xylitols created equal or are there differences in quality, Which xylitol grain size (large crystals or powdered sugar) is the best choice, and Buying xylitol sugar from non-GMO/GMO-free sources/not made from corn in China.

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Footnotes

1 Healing Teeth Naturally for various reasons strongly cautions against so-called professional tooth cleanings since they are likely to damage teeth, see for instance this testimonial of a person whose front tooth was destroyed as a consequence. In susceptible individuals, they can also damage the heart.

2 See Pulling teeth: possible health dangers for reasons to avoid tooth extractions.

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