A Mother’s Kiss Spreads Tooth Decay
Dental cavities in children can happen for a number of different reasons, including poor oral hygiene, a sugar filled diet and now, it has been found, transferred saliva from parent’s mouths. Sharing utensils and toothbrushes have been named as some of the instances when saliva is transferred, as well as when a parent cleans a pacifier with their mouth.
The 2011 Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey found that harmful bacteria such as Steptococcus could cause tooth-decay if present in the mouth of infants.
Babies are born without this harmful bacterium in their mouths, which makes them more susceptible to cavities and other damage when saliva carrying the bacteria is transferred by their parents.
Dentists recommend that a good oral hygiene routine be maintained and that parents wash utensils thoroughly before they give them to their child. Also xylitol sweetened gum has be recommended for parents, as a lower level of decay-causing bacteria is found in their saliva, if they chew this gum.
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