• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2022

A number of studies have been conducted to confirm the preventive effect of xylitol on dental caries as a whole or partial alternative to dietary sugars. This study reviewed the oral health effects of xylitol on the prevention mechanism of dental caries, the prevention of dental caries, the inhibition of mother-to-child transmission, and the oral health effects in the elderly based on existing studies on the oral health of xylitol. Carbohydrates and dietary sugars in food are fermented by acid-producing microorganisms in the mouth and produce dental plaque and acid, which cause dental caries. However, most dental decay-causing bacteria cannot produce acids by metabolizing xylitol. Xylitol, stored in cells as a non-metabolizable metabolite by Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), affects bacterial glucose metabolism and inhibits bacterial growth. Xylitol consumption also reduces the amount of plaque and the population of S. mutans in both plaque and saliva. In addition, xylitol acts in the remineralization process. Xylitol has been confirmed to effectively prevent dental caries, inhibit mother-to-child transmission of MS, prevent dental caries, and increase salivary flow in the elderly. In conclusion, xylitol is an adequate sugar substitute for dental health, from infants to the elderly. For future studies, the researchers recommend reviewing the effects of xylitol on the oral and intestinal microbial environment and the side effects of excessive intake.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.383-389
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• 2005

Xerostomia is defined as a subjective complaint of dry mouth that may be perceived when there is insufficient mucosal wetting. However, the diagnosis and treatment of xerostomia is not that simple because of the fact that the subjective awareness of dry mouth is not always correlated with a diminution in the flow of saliva and there is always a difference between individuals in salivary flow rates needed for normal oral function. In the present study, the aim was to develop a questionnaire to evaluate the dry mouth symptoms and to analyze its reliability and usability as a diagnostic and analytic tool for xerostomia. The questionnaire which consists of 6 Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) type questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness and 4 questions to evaluate behavior to avoid oral dryness was developed and administered twice with 1 week's interval to the healthy 88 young adults without dry mouth symptoms(44 males and 44 females; mean age was $25.6{\pm}3.1$ years in male and $24.3{\pm}2.1$ years in female). The results were as follows. 1 The intraclass correlation coefficients of 6 questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness were as significantly high as 0.767 for the degree of oral dryness at other times of the day, 0.850 for the amount of saliva in the mouth, and 0.791 for the degree of effect on daily life due to oral dryness and as high as 0.563 for the degree of oral dryness at night or on awakening, 0.674 for the degree of oral dryness during eating, and 0.641 for the degree of difficulty in swallowing foods. 2. Cronbach's alpha value of 6 questions was 0.982. It can be concluded that the series of questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness has high internal consistency. 3. Cohen's kappa values of 4 questions to evaluate behavior to relieve oral dryness were as significantly high as 0.850 for the frequency of keeping a glass of water at the bedside and as high as 0.506 the frequency of awakening during sleeping due to oral dryness, 0.419 for the frequency of sipping liquids to aid in eating dry foods, and 0.407 for the frequency of using a candy or chewing gum due to oral dryness. From the results, it can be concluded that the questionnaire consisting of 6 VAS type questions to evaluate the subjective oral dryness and 4 questions to evaluate behavior to relieve oral dryness has reliability of good to excellent level, and that the series of 6 VAS type questions has significantly high internal consistency to evaluate the subjective oral dryness.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.2 s.30
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• pp.453-489
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• 1995

The research of the phrases related with physiology of stomach and spleen in the contents of Huang Di Nei Jing(黃帝內經) known as the Bible of oriental medicine will make a contribution to a deep understanding of disease of stomach and spleen and a proper clinical diagnosis and treatment of them. In this research of the most appropriate glosses recorded nine kinds of representative medical books including Huang Di Nei Jing Somoon(黃帝內經素問) of Wang Bing(王氷) were picked out: The summaries of the selected contents are as follows: 1. The word 'saliva(涎)' in 'the spleen controls saliva(脾爲涎)' can be viewed as a generic term referring to oral cavity secretion gland as well as the secretion fluid of salivary gland. 2. The phases 'a large reservoir(太倉)', barn organs', 'a reserboir of food stuff', 'a stomach as the market(胃爲之市)', etc mean the function of stomach to receive food(胃主受納). 3. The phase 'generation of five tastes(五味出焉)' means both 'the function of stomach to transform food into chyme(胃主腐熟)' and 'the channelling function of spleen.(脾主運化)' 4. The flowing of the food-Qi(食氣) into stomach brings about spreading Jung(精) into liver and then percolating Jung(精) flow into channel. The channel-Qi(脈氣) flows into lung through channel. As a result, all kinds of channels gather together in lung and Jung(精) is sent into skin and hair. The assembly of Jung(精) with skins and channels moves Qi(氣) into fu-organ and so jung(精) and mental activity(神明) in fu-organ(府) come to be in four organs(四臟). Then if Qi(氣) comes back to power balance unit(權衡) being in the state of equilibrium(權衡以平), the hole of Qi(氣口) comes to determine the matter of life and death through achieving Chun-quan-chi(-寸-關-尺). The above mentioned phrases means the digestion, asorption and transmission of food. When food is taken in stomach, Jung-Qi(精氣) comes to be over flowed upward into spleen, back into lung, finally downward into bladders through water-conduit(水道) controlled by lung. When water- Jung(水精) radiates into whole body with channels of five organs(五臟), both of them fit together with and yin-yang(陰-陽). Therefore, the grasping of the rise and decline of yin-yang(陰C-陽) is necessary to consult patients. The above mentioned phrases is properly viewed to designate the asorption, transmission and excretion of food. 5. Spleen controls flesh(脾之合肉也), the state of spleen is known by human lips, and what this means is that liver plays functions of spread and expansion(肝主疏泄). 6. The phrase 'Jung Jung'((中精)) in 'gallbladder dominates Jung jung(膽主中精)', which in one of the specific expression of 'liver plays functions of spread and expansion(肝主疏泄). 7. It is right that the phase 'The eleven organs in all are determined by gallbladder'(凡十,一臟取決於膽也) is correctly paraphrased as 'only one of ten organs, spleen, is determined by gallbladder'.(凡十,一臟取決於膽也), 8. The small intestine is an organ. which receives the materials digested and sends them out. This means that the function of transforming materials(化物) factually refers to that of separating clearity and blur(泌別淸濁). And it is also thought to have the function of ascending clearity and descending blur(升淸降濁), 9. A large intestine is a transmitting organ(傳導之官) from which a change comes out(變化出焉). the phrase 'change'(變化) in this sentence means both the intake of water and nutrition and the formation procedure of stool through excretion of mucocele.