Are you putting your baby at risk?

Some people don't have a clue about dental disease in young people.

That's why caries (tooth decay) remains the most common chronic disease of childhood throughout the world. Disheartening statistics show that in San Joaquin County, one out of 20 babies have a cavity by age one, four out of 20 by age two, eight out of 20 by three years, and half have cavities by age four. This places our county a year "ahead" of the California average of 50 percent having decay by age five.

Hard to believe it still happens in Lodi or anywhere in the United States of America, but a two-and-a-half-year-old whose left eye was swollen shut from a life-threatening dental infection visited our office recently. Bad bacteria from an abscessed tooth had invaded her body and spread up her cheek to the tissue surrounding her eye. If the tooth had not been removed and antibiotics started, the infection could have progressed into her brain. This same process is how an abscessed tooth resulted in the death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver, of Maryland, in 2007.

The little Lodi toddler, whose face swelled up like a lopsided pumpkin, was accompanied by a parent who previously had no concern about her oral health. In fact, no one had ever brushed the girl's teeth. Her father said he didn't know you were supposed to brush baby teeth. Wrong! Let's make it clear: All teeth need to be cleaned the moment they start to peek out of the gums. That is when they are most vulnerable to acid attacks that occur every time food enters the mouth. Furthermore, total child health involves an adult caregiver brushing the child's teeth for two minutes. This should be done every day after breakfast and just before bed, with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste.

The child's father, along with many others, never heard that caries is caused by bad bacteria that are transmitted in the early months of life to babies through their intimate caregivers' saliva (for example, by sharing utensils or toothbrushes, or licking pacifiers). About one in four people have the nasty strain of bacteria that rapidly changes any fermentable carbohydrate (including formula, cow and breast milk) into acid which literally burns holes in teeth. Over hundreds of years, these bugs have been passed down through saliva from generation to generation. If the caregiver had known this, maybe he could have made some healthy behavioral changes. Maybe his young daughter wouldn't have acquired the harmful oral bacteria. Maybe he would have brushed her teeth.

Unfortunately, the cause of dental disease in children is not just from one source and can't be cured by good hygiene alone. Like diabetes, cancer and some mental illnesses, the cavity process is very complex. Many other factors like genetic predisposition, saliva flow, poor food choices, unhealthy lifestyle practices, etc., accelerate the destructive decay process. These allow the bad oral bacteria to feed, grow, multiply, and ooze tooth-rottening acid which destroys teeth. If permitted to progress, the bacterial infection invades the body and grave problems may occur.

In the summer of 2007, US magazine printed a cover story about Britney Spears putting her child to bed with soda in his bottle. Maybe if she had taken her babies to a dentist prior to their first birthday, as recommended by the American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics, she would have learned the consequences of frequently eating and drinking sugary foods. Britney was upset with the L.A. dentist who refused her request to whiten her two-year-old son's decayed teeth. The dentist told her the brown spots were cavities, and cosmetic whitening would not solve anything. Sorry, Britney, but once it reaches the cavity stage, dentists can only drill out the mushy decayed part and fill the hole. Also sad to say, fillings do nothing or very little to reverse or stop the decay process. Yes, as the title states, holes in the teeth are a problem, but they are the end result, not the underlying real problem. The real problem is repetitive unhealthy behaviors which permit bad bacteria to thrive.

Dental disease can be treated medicinally — with no drilling — if early enamel defects like white spots on babies' teeth are discovered early. Once high-risk individuals are identified, early non-invasive interventions such as preventive education can be performed. These can prevent or minimize the number of cavities drastically.

Lodi dentists, physicians and other health providers can help educate people more about keeping teeth healthy, but the best preventive dentistry takes place at home. A few simple key prevention steps include: lifting the child's lip and checking the teeth for white or brown spots; consistently brushing with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste; and providing a healthy diet. Parents and caregivers committed to healthy habits for their children are paving the road for them to enjoy a lifetime of total health.

Jeff Huston, DDS, MS, has practiced pediatric dentistry in Lodi for 25 years. He is a Fellow and Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. More information about dental disease and prevention tips can be found free online in an article Dr. Huston co-authored in the October 2009 Journal of the California Dental Association. Sharing Early Preventive Oral Health with Medical Colleagues: A Dental Pain Prevention Strategy. Please see http://cda.org/publications/journal_of_the_california_dental_association.

Reader Feedback

ordinarycitizen wrote on Dec 5, 2009 9:35 PM:

" Dr. Huston's opening statement was straight forward and fact; an attention grabbing sentence which really does make the reader want to continue on. The article doesn't sound angry to me, in my opinion, rather, it sounds pleading 'listen to me, you can save your child needless pain and save their teeth, or better yet, their lives'. Knowledge is power and he is, hopefully, arming some parents out there with with the necessary tools to prevent tooth decay. I did not know Brittany Spears put her child to be with soda in his bottle. What was she thinking? Well........she wasn't, now was she? How sad that some parents do not use common sense. "

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Lodian wrote on Dec 5, 2009 12:52 AM:

" In my opinion, the first line of this letter makes one not want to read on. It just started out so angry to me. Going on the attack right out of the gate here isn't a great way to educate people on good dental care. I'm afraid some were probably turned off after that first line. I was turned off and my family takes great care of our dental health. I hope that those that needed to hear your message did indeed read on, but I have a feeling they did not. That's unfortunate. Please write again, as this is an important topic. "

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