Topical xylitol administration by parents for the promotion of oral health in infants: a caries prevention experiment at a Finnish Public Health Centre.

OBJECTIVES: This demonstration programme tested topical use of xylitol as a possible oral health promoting regimen in infants at a Finnish Public Health Centre in 2002-2011. METHODS: Parents (usually mothers) began once- or twice-daily administration of a 45% solution of xylitol (2.96 m) onto all available deciduous teeth of their children at the age of approximately 6-8 months. The treatment (xylitol swabbing), which continued till the age of approximately 36 months (total duration 26-28 months), was carried out using cotton swabs or a children's toothbrush; the approximate daily xylitol usage was 13.5 mg per each deciduous tooth. RESULTS: At the age of 7 years, caries data on the deciduous dentition of 80 children were compared with those obtained from similar, untreated children (n = 90). Xylitol swabbing resulted in a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in the incidence of enamel and dentine caries compared with the comparison subjects (relative risk 2.1 and 4.0, respectively; 95% confidence intervals 1.42-3.09 and 2.01-7.98, respectively). Similar findings were obtained when the children were 5 or 6 years old. The treatment reduced the need of tooth filling relative risk and 95% confidence intervals at 7 years: 11.86 and 6.36-22.10, respectively; P < 0.001). Compared with untreated subjects, the oral counts of mutans streptococci were reduced significantly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Considerable improvement in dental health was accomplished in infants participating in a topical at-home xylitol administration experiment, which was offered to families in the area by the Public Health Centre as a supplement to standard oral health care. Caregiver assessment of the programme was mostly rated as high or satisfactory.