An evaluation of the acidogenic potential of maltodextrins in vivo

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Maltodextrins are a group of oligosaccharides, which are being increasingly used as a source of carbohydrate in many commercially available foods and drinks. This study investigated the effect of three different maltodextrins on the pH of dental plaque, in vivo, in 10 adult volunteers using the plaque harvesting method. The three maltodextrins tested in this study were DE=5.5, 14.0 and 18.5 (DE=dextrose equivalents), made up as 10% solutions. Also, three commercially available maltodextrin containing children's drinks were evaluated for their acidogenicity. 10% sucrose and 10% sorbitol solutions were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The minimum pH achieved for DE=5.5, 14.0 and 18.5 was 5.83±0.30, 5.67±0.24 and 5.71±0.29, respectively, and were significantly higher as compared with that for 10% sucrose (5.33±0.17). The area under the curve was the least for DE=5.5 (12.03±4.64), followed by DE=18.5 (13.13±8.87) and DE=14.0 (17.35±6.43), but were all significantly smaller as compared with 10% sucrose (24.50±8.64). The minimum pH achieved for the infant drinks was 6.01±0.24, 5.99±0.28 and 5.8±0.19 for the Lemon Barley and Camomile Herbal baby drink, Mixed Citrus and Hibiscus baby drink, and Infant Milk, respectively. It was concluded that though maltodextrins appeared to be significantly less acidogenic than 10% sucrose, they can lead to a substantial drop in plaque pH and may, therefore, have a potential to cause demineralisation of enamel.