A viewer asks about a YouTube video: “I ran across this dentist, who after 40 years has never had a cleaning because she uses and promotes a protocol involving xylitol, which is sugar from birch trees. She claims that correct use of xylitol eliminates the unhealthy mutans streptococcus bacteria in the mouth and keeps only the good ones, thus preventing cavities and even reversing issues and restoring enamel to its ideal hardened state. She gets regular dental checkups and following this protocol she always comes away with confirmation of excellent oral health, including gums and enamel. Could you ask Creator about this?” Is this a safe and effective dental hygiene strategy? Is she being manipulated to convince people to put their dental health at risk? What is most important for us to know?

She is not being manipulated, she is manipulating herself through a strong inner conviction she is on the right track and is somewhat of an absolutist, thinking that she is arrived at the ultimate answer and she is sticking to it. We do support her position up to a point, which is that good dental hygiene is important to keep in mind and practice. There are a number of ways to go about it. There are data, as you have seen for yourself, supporting xylitol gum in reducing plaque formation and reducing tooth decay. But the experiment has been tried and has failed in having a large group of subjects rely solely on xylitol gum for tooth care and there was no benefit in reducing what was otherwise a massive plaque buildup over time compared to non-gum-users. So the information is in alignment up to a point, as representing a useful adjunct but not the be-all and end-all of tooth care.