Clinical and laboratorial evidences of dental caries control with Chlorhexidine and Xylitol use

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The control of dental caries has been one of the mainly objectives of dentistry, mostly in specific populations, where the prevalence of this disease is still high. Chemical control has been widely studied as an extra strategy for patients with high risk or high prevalence of dental caries. From all chemical agents available in dentistry, chlorhexidine, an antibacterial, and xylitol, a sugar substitute, have been demonstrated expressive evidence for caries control. PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature about clinical and laboratorial evidences of dental caries control with chlorhexidine and xylitol. CONCLUSION: Chlorhexidine and xylitol separately or associated seem to have an excellent performance for Streptococcus mutans, biofilm and dental caries control.