Anyone know if Splenda/Equal causes tooth decay like regular sugar?

Since they're not real sugar do they cause cavities like regular sugar would?

Anyone know if Splenda/Equal causes tooth decay like regular sugar?
I'm a dentist.





There is no way someone's "friend" could do a "science project" studying whether or not sugar substitutes cause tooth decay....unless of course this "friend" had an entire lab with support staff and thousands of dollars worth of equipment.





Modern dental researchers use rats in carefully controlled environments. They test for the effects of various materials on rats' teeth by sacrificing the rats and examining the teeth under electron microscopes...among other techniques. It's not some high school science project like seeing which soil makes plants grow faster.





The answer to your question is "no".





These sweeteners, as far as I know, cannot be metabolized by the bacteria that cause tooth decay.





Tooth decay is caused by bacterial metabolism producing lactic acid as a waste product. This lactic acid is what lowers the pH at the surface of your tooth and causes breakdown of the tooth structure. If the bacteria residing on your teeth are not provided with food they can metabolize, then they cannot produce lactic acid and thus, cannot cause tooth decay.
Reply:yea it does my friend did a science progect on it
Reply:No, they shouldn't cause cavities because they aren't fermentable by bacteria and will not produce acid to dissolve your teeth. One sugar substitute, xylitol, actually has an anti-caries effect. It's a natural sugar harvested from birch bark. A few sugarless gum companies have started using them such as Trident, Epic, and CareFree Koolerz.