An interventional study of Xylitol and Erythritol in Dental Caries and Dental Plaque, sponsored by Loma Linda University. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-28.
Sponsored by Loma Linda University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This study will assess the effectiveness of erythritol and xylitol in suppressing biofilm activity, using both within-subject and between-group comparisons.
Xylitol and erythritol are sugar alcohols that cariogenic bacteria cannot readily ferment. Most clinical evidence comes from chewing gum; few studies have tested polyol mints in people, and none has compared xylitol and erythritol mints with a real-time measure of plaque activity.
This is a single-center, randomized (1:1), parallel-group, examiner-blinded trial in 80 healthy adults at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. The randomization sequence is generated in jamovi. The xylitol group takes two Epic Xylitol mints (about 0.25 g xylitol each) twice daily; the erythritol group takes one DC24 Daily Care erythritol mint (about 0.5 g erythritol) twice daily. Both groups receive about 1 g of polyol per day for 7 days.
Participants arrive in the morning without brushing or eating. A trained, calibrated examiner who does not know the group assignment swabs the lingual surfaces of the lower anterior teeth for about 5 seconds, and the CariScreen meter reports a reading from 0 to 9,999 within about 15 seconds. A different, unblinded team member handles randomization and dispenses the mints. Measurements are taken at Visit 1 (baseline) and Visit 2 (after one week). Participants avoid other sugar-alcohol products during the study week. Adverse events are reviewed at Visit 2.
1,171 studies on the registry are indexed under Dental Caries; 209 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 80 is above the median of 60 across 967 interventional studies indexed under Dental Caries.
Browse Dental Caries studies →Loma Linda University is the lead sponsor of 306 studies on the registry; 46 are open to participants now.
Of its 29 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 23 (79%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Two Epic Xylitol mints (about 0.25 g xylitol each) dissolved in the mouth twice daily for one week, about 1 g xylitol per day.
Dietary Supplement: Xylitol
One DC24 Daily Care erythritol mint (about 0.5 g erythritol) dissolved in the mouth twice daily for one week, about 1 g erythritol per day.
Dietary Supplement: Erythritol
Participants will consume two Epic Xylitol mints (\~0.25 g xylitol each) twice daily for one week
Participants will consume one DC24 erythritol mint (\~0.5 g erythritol) twice daily for one week
Biofilm Metabolic Activity Assessment with Xylitol
Plaque from the lingual surfaces of the lower anterior teeth is swabbed and read immediately with the CariScreen ATP meter (relative light units, 0-9,999; higher = more bacterial metabolic activity). Change = 1 week post-baseline minus baseline, reported within each arm.
Time frame: Change in biofilm activity between Visit 1 (baseline) and Visit 2 (1 week post-baseline)
Biofilm Metabolic Activity Assessment with Erythritol
Plaque from the lingual surfaces of the lower anterior teeth is swabbed and read immediately with the CariScreen ATP meter (relative light units, 0-9,999; higher = more bacterial metabolic activity). Change = 1 week post-baseline minus baseline, reported within each arm.
Time frame: Change in biofilm activity between Visit 1 (baseline) and Visit 2 (1 week post-baseline)
Change in ATP reading by baseline caries risk category
Change from baseline in CariScreen reading, by American Dental Association (ADA) Caries Risk Assessment category (low, moderate, high).
Time frame: Change in biofilm activity between Visit 1 (baseline) and Visit 2 (1 week post-baseline) by risk category (low, moderate, high)
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: No
Start is estimated for Dec 2026; primary completion for Dec 2028, 24 months later.
Of 469 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Dental Caries, half reached primary completion within 15 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 30. This study's planned 24 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 502 studies reached it within 15 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 29.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Xylitol · Erythritol