Research

World xylitol research started in Finland

The effect of xylitol on the prevention of dental caries has been established in long-term scientific studies. The dental significance of xylitol was discovered in Finland in the so-called Turku Sugar Studies carried out in 1972-1975 by professors Kauko K. Mäkinen and Arje Scheinin at Turku University.

Another important milestone was the ‘Ylivieska field studies' in Ylivieska, Finland in 1982-1989. These studies showed for the first time that the consumption of relatively small daily quantities of xylitol can have a long-term effect on dental caries, and that such use of xylitol can even permanently prevent caries.

The first chewing gum to be sweetened with xylitol and to have anticariogenic effects, Xylitol-Jenkki, was launched in 1975 by Leaf.