Sweets, Poor Dental Hygiene In Toddlers Predict Decay Later On
March 8, 2005

By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH - Lots of sweets and juice-filled bottles at night are among several factors that can make children more vulnerable to tooth decay as they get older, a recent study shows.

The habits and dental health of parents also make a difference, according to the study.

Finnish researchers collected information on a group of children as they aged. At the age of 10, children who had poor dental health (at least five teeth were decayed, filled or lost because of decay) were more likely to have been given bottles filled with juice at night when they were 18 months old. The 10-year-olds with poor dental health were also more likely at age 3 to have:

• Had their teeth brushed infrequently
• Consumed large amounts of sweets
• Had plaque on their teeth
• Had cavities in at least one tooth

Some general family characteristics were also associated with poor dental health in 10-year-olds:

• Fathers who brushed their own teeth infrequently
• Fathers who were relatively young when the child was born
• Mothers who had several cavities in their teeth each year
• Mothers who had only an 8th-grade education

The researchers suggest that dentists may be able to identify children at high risk of poor dental health when the children are still quite young, and help parents to reduce risk factors for tooth decay before the children get older.

The study appears in the current issue of the journal Caries Research.