Only studies with the following characteristics were eligible for review:
(1) the study participants must have consumed candies or lozenges containing xylitol; (2) there were no restrictions on study populations; (3)
the control group included subjects who either had not received any
type of intervention or had received a placebo or preventive procedures
(eg, dental sealants, oral health instruction); and (4) the study provided
concurrent comparisons of coronal dental caries increment using decayed,
missing, and filled surfaces (DMFS). Only clinical trials conducted with
human subjects were included in the review. Trials that allocated other products (eg, chewing gum, chlorhexidine) to the treatment group, in addition
to the xylitol-based candies and lozenges, were excluded.
Once eligible studies were identified, the authors extracted the following
information from each report: (1) citation and year of publication; (2) location of trial; (3) sample size; (4) study design; (5) baseline and follow-up
DMFS scores; (6) concentration of and frequency of exposure to xylitol; (7)
type of sweeteners used in the control group; (8) study setting; (9) caries
risk statuses for treatment and comparison groups and method of estimation; (10) methods of caries diagnosis; (11) assessments of participant supervision and compliance; (12) use of other caries prevention strategies;
and (13) frequency of side effects.