Dr. John's Candies ®

Listen to this excerpt of Dr. John Bruinsma on Gums of Steel, discussing Xylitol and its benefits in The Ultimate Xylitol Webinar with Dr. Chris Kammer of Lifetime Family Dentistry on June 22, 2010.

Please turn up your volume, click the Play arrow button, & enjoy!

Gums of Steel presents:
The Ultimate Xylitol Webinar
We will solve the mystery!

Learn the controversy behind our profession’s apparent non-promotion of one of the simplest and easiest cavity reduction and teeth strengthening oral health agents period!

With Ellie Phillips DDS, author of Kiss Your Dentist Good-Bye and The Power of Xylitol
&
Dr. John Bruinsma, owner of Dr John’s Candies

Join host Dr. Chris Kammer to learn the amazing power of xylitol and why you need all of your patients on it now!

Xylitol points of interest:

• reduces the bad bacteria in your mouth by 90% according to the studies
• ends decay and strengthens teeth
• is safe for all ages and pregnant mothers
• is all completely natural
• is virtually ignored by our profession!!

“I give this seminar my most urgent recommendation!”
- Dr. Chris Kammer

by Pete Daly – GRBJ

Anti-cavity candy from a small business owned by a Grand Rapids couple has received another burst of valuable publicity, this time at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, one of the largest dental profession trade shows in North America.

Two years ago an anti-cavity herbal lollipop introduced by Dr. John’s Candies was tasted by Diane Sawyer on the “Good Morning America” show, adding to publicity the product already had received in Europe and the U.S.

Now Dr. John’s has come out with SimplyXylitol; a xylitol-sweetened, sugar-free candy that dentist John Bruinsma and his wife, Debra, introduced to the dental profession at their booth in February at McCormick Place. About 32,000 people were in attendance at the trade show.

“From what we were told, we were the talk of the show,” said John….

Read the rest of the article at: GRBJ.com

by Mark Hartley – Editor, RDH magazine

Dr. John’s Candies recently introduced the ingredient of xylitol to its candies, completing a circle of sorts for the Michigan husband and wife dental team who have been serving up healthier alternatives to candy for almost 15 years.

“Dr. John” is Dr. John Bruinsma, a dentist in Grand Rapids, MI. His wife, Debra, is a former dental hygienist. The word “former” is a little misleading since she left the couple’s dental practice to ensure that the flow of candy doesn’t stop, becoming the manager of the business. Since 1995, Dr. John’s Candies has been recognized for its sugar-free candies by a variety of organizations and news media, including a March 2008 feature on Good Morning America.

But using xylitol as an ingredient will likely endear the Michigan company even more to the dental profession. Dr. John’s Candies offer a variety of candies containing xylitol. Many of the choices are lollipops, but there are peppermints, caramels, taffy, creamsicles, and nougat swirls.

“The most frequently asked question we received over the last 15 years of running a sugar-free candy company was, ‘Does your candy contain xylitol?’” Dr. Bruinsma said.

Debra said the couple explored the reason xylitol seems to be added only to mints and gums. “Three years ago, we started inquiring into why manufacturers in the United States had not tried to formulate it into hard candies, specifically the sugar-free fruit lollipop, which was in our interest since it was a Dr. John’s most requested candy.

“Opening up the xylitol candy selections to something other than mints and gums would give our dental colleagues a broader taste appeal for everyone, especially children who generally prefer fruit flavors over mint-flavored candies, and whose parents and teachers prefer child-friendly lollipops over gum. We saw that as better patient compliance.”

In the making of candy, xylitol tends to have more of a liquid consistency than a syrupy one. The Bruinsmas also researched how much xylitol should be in a serving.

“If our formula is to be recommended by dental health professionals, we wanted the serving size and amount of servings per day to be what a normal person could incorporate into their everyday life and be effective,” Debra said.

So they worked with their manufacturer on a formula, and worked through the business obstacles of launching the SimplyXylitol product line, which included keeping the candy affordable….

Read the rest of this article at dentristryIQ.com.

West Michigan magazine Food For Thought article from Feb/Mar 2010 issue:

Grand Rapids dentist Dr. John Bruinsma sometimes tells his patients to eat candy… [ read article - 1.6MB PDF]