Zeal for Xylitol Education
Meet Jennifer Porter, RDH, a dynamic and energetic professional who will be happy to tell you (and anyone else who asks) about the surprising benefits of Xylitol
by Violet Pevensie
When it comes to educating people about xylitol—a tasty, all natural sugar substitute that also happens to be an effective tool for everyone’s oral health care regimen—Jennifer Porter doesn’t mince words. “After my first few years as a registered dental hygienist, I became frustrated with seeing the same unresolved oral health problems again and again. So I resolved to find a better solution for my patients."
Porter points out that effective and affordable prevention protocols are especially important for the many patients who lack dental insurance or simply don’t have the financial resources to treat chronic caries and gum disease. But, “Often, those who stand to benefit most from preventive care are the patients least likely to receive it.”
Enter xylitol, a safe, sweet and naturally derived polyol that not only helps prevent caries, but has even been shown to help remineralize damaged enamel. Porter first learned of its oral health applications from Larry Bybee and Russ Misner, dentists in her area who had been so impressed by what they learned while researching xylitol that they incorporated it into their own practice—with excellent results. (For more about Drs. Bybee and Misner, and their xylitol-based oral health program available through Academy of Dental Resources, see Porter’s article in the May, 2007 issue of Modern Hygienist.) Encouraged by Bybee and Misner’s experience, Porter embarked on her own quest for information, which ultimately led her employer to implement xylitol-based prevention protocols into his practice. And before she knew it, Porter had become an unofficial xylitol spokesperson and educator.
“At first, I was just answering my patients’ questions. Then I became a representative for a company that manufactured and sold xylitol products—the results I was seeing were so impressive that I wanted to do more to share this information with others—so, suddenly, people I didn’t even know, friends of friends, friends of patients, all types of people were contacting me with questions...” Porter says folks were quick to recognize that the research behind xylitol was sound and, after tasting xylitol-sweetened gum and mints, “Everyone wanted to know where to buy it, which brands were best, how often they should use it...so, my simple quest for better solutions for my patients just kind of organically led to educating a huge number of people.”
And that’s just fine with Porter. “As an RDH, it’s especially hard to see young patients suffering from caries and gum problems. Now, I can offer another tool against decay, in addition to the old “Brush-n-Floss” mantra. Believe me,” she laughs, “talking a child into chewing xylitol gum is much easier than talking him down from the ceiling during a painful prophy or restoration!”
Violet Pevensie is a freelance writer whose interests include medical research, Southern literature and hiking. She lives in Boise, Idaho with her extended family and three cats.
