Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health
Did you know that the top chronic infectious disease affecting children isn’t colds or flu. It’s tooth decay – and it’s contagious.
“Dental disease is a contagious disease. Parents, especially mothers, can transfer the type of bacteria they have from their mouth to their newborn babies through intimate contact - kissing, licking pacifiers, licking the nipple of a bottle,” said Dr. Hans Reinemer, medical director of the pediatric dental residency program at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.
Reinemer teaches young dentists who want to specialize in children's dentistry.
“There's dental schools all over the country, and so each year we accept two new residents at the two-year programs,” he said.
That’s all great, but the quite serious bottom line for us non-medical folks is we need to get babies to the dentist.
There’s a whole industry informing expectant parents about everything that might happen when they have a child. It's a long list that can be scary and overwhelming. But tooth decay isn’t typically part of the discussion.
“I think unfortunately dental health tooth decay kind of gets left out to some extent,” said Reinemer. “But what’s really fascinating is that dental decay is the most contagious chronic disease facing our kids today. Upwards of 60% of kids will have some level of tooth decay by the time they reach age 5."
The recommendation is to take your child to the dentist by his or her first birthday. You should also avoid giving babies bottles filled with juice and think of that first birthday as the target date to switch from bottles to cups. And always avoid using honey or other sugary substances to coat a pacifier.
Before all of this, it’s a good idea to get your own dental health under control.
“Babies or young children of mothers that struggle with dental decay have an upwards of ninefold increase in the risk of developing dental decay themselves. So that's a pretty significant elevation of risk and that's why it's so important,” said Reinemer.
If you want to get your kiddo off to a good start, prevention is key.
Dr. Reinemer said starting with your child’s first birthday, you should visit the dentist every six months. If you do that, your child will likely grow accustomed to taking care of their dental health.
