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ADA NBDHE Dental Hygienist

Category - Provision of Clinical Dental Hygiene Services

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The artificial sweetener xylitol prevents dental caries by:

Depriving cariogenic bacteria of easily digestible carbohydrates
Acting as a surfactant which prevents bacteria from adhering to tooth surfaces
Directly remineralizing compromised enamel with xylitol particles
Breaking down the intercellular matrix of colonies of S. mutans

Explanation

Answer: A - The artificial sweetener xylitol prevents dental caries by depriving cariogenic bacteria of easily digestible carbohydrates.
Xylitol cannot be metabolized by cariogenic bacteria the way other carbohydrates are. When xylitol is used in the place of traditional sweeteners, there is less usable energy available to pathogenic bacteria which results in a decline in their numbers.

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ADA NBDHE Dental Hygienist

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