Far too many children develop caries in their baby teeth at a young age. Since these teeth are an important part of their long-term dental health, it is vital to protect your youngest family members from unnecessary decay. For many people, this amounts to controlling the sugars that a child consumes. However, there are other threats to look out for, one of which is secondhand smoke.
A number of scientific studies have indicated that exposure to cigarette smoke at a young age impairs a child’s ability to resist caries. Children who are exposed to tobacco smoke at four months old, compared to children with minimal or no exposure to secondhand smoke, suffer about twice as high a risk of caries. This can be attributed to the fact that secondhand smoke reduces one’s ability to produce saliva, which is important to clean your teeth. It also raises children’s levels of sialic acid, which fosters the growth of the s. mutans bacteria that is responsible for tooth decay.
For other ways to help get your children off to a good start with their oral health, bring them to our Lynnwood dentistry clinic at an early age.
