Can xylitol gums erode / damage teeth?

[nixodian]

l should be most grateful if you answer this question boggling us. like most accessible xylitol gums here in UK , eg extra, wrigleys, menthos, some of the flavours have malic acid and citric acid which erode enamel? true? or does the saliva production ameliorate this? also they have other polyols which are harmless to teeth except sorbitol which can be digested by the plaque bacteria, true? any other polyols or chemicals l should be aware of in xylitol gums?

 

[letsconnect]

I know this was posted in the General Dental Questions section, but it's an interesting question (which I don't think has come up before) so I moved it here 🙂. Maybe one of our dentists like @Jodie Nelson @drhirst or @Gordon might know the answer!

 

[Gordon]

It's been a while but if I remember correctly, the trick with chewing gums is to chew them for more than a few minutes, (my hazy recollection is more than about 10 minutes) then the extra saliva generated outweighs any potential damage from the sugars/flavourings etc.