The Green Screen Rating

This score is a ranking based on how natural, eco-friendly, and non-toxic a product is, and is rated out of a possible total 5 stars.

STARS: 5 out of 5 stars for naturalness
COMMENTS: This gum contains, as the main igredient, the beneficial natural sweetener xylitol. Though many popular chewing gums contain xylitol, the amount is so small as to be negligent.

Until recently, I didn't know much about xylitol, so I did some research on Wikipedia, where I learned a really cool fact: xylitol actually can actively aid in repairing minor cavities! Read on with the following information quoted from Wikipedia:

"Xylitol is a naturally occurring sweetener found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, including various berries, corn husks, oats, and mushrooms.

Xylitol is a "toothfriendly" sugar. In addition to not encouraging tooth decay (by replacing dietary sugars), xylitol may actively aid in repairing minor cavities caused by dental caries. Early studies from Finland in the 1970s found that a group chewing sucrose gum had 2.92 decayed, missing, or filled (dmf) teeth compared to 1.04 in the group chewing xylitol gums. In another study, researchers had mothers chew xylitol gum 3 months after delivery until their children were 2 years old. The researchers found that the xylitol group had a 70% reduction in caries (dmf).

Recent research confirms a plaque-reducing effect and suggests that the compound, having some chemical properties similar to sucrose, attracts and then "starves" harmful micro-organisms, allowing the mouth to remineralize damaged teeth with less interruption. (However, this same effect also interferes with yeast micro-organisms and others, so xylitol is inappropriate for making yeast-based bread, for instance.)"