What is it?
Xylitol is a naturally occurring substance that can be found in plants, fruits, and vegetables and is even produced in the human body by normal metabolism. The xylitol used in our toothpaste is produced either from birch tree pulp or corn. Though there is some processing involved in extracting the ingredient, the end result is identical to the xylitol found naturally in plants.
What does it do?
Xylitol is a multifunctional ingredient, and has several applications in our toothpastes. For example, xylitol's soothing properties makes it effective for use in our Natural Clean & Gentle Care SLS-Free Anticavity Toothpaste plus Dry Mouth Soother. It is also used as an antiplaque ingredient in our Antiplaque toothpastes and gels.
Xylitol rounds out the flavor of our "mintier" toothpastes, such as our spearmint, wintermint and peppermint flavors. Xylitol helps bring consistency to these mint flavors that can vary slightly depending on the particular conditions of a given season's mint harvest.
What are the alternatives?
Although there are other flavor, antiplaque, and soothing ingredients that could impart some of the same benefits, we have chosen to use xylitol in several of our oral care products because of its natural source.
What are the risks?
Xylitol has no known toxicity or carcinogenicity. It is listed by the US Food and Drug Administration as an ingredient that is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). It has a long history of use in food dating back to the 1960's and is included in such products as chewing gum, syrup, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and pharmaceuticals.
However, xylitol, like chocolate, should never be given to dogs! Canine ingestion of xylitol promotes the release of insulin and wreaks havoc with a dog's normal glucose levels, causing hypoglycemia—in other words, a sugar crash. The dose of xylitol will affect the severity of the response, but that dose is also affected by the animal's own ability to produce insulin and its sugar metabolism rates. For more information, see the American Veterinary Medical Association.