The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that dental caries is the most common chronic disease of children aged 6–11 and adolescents aged 12–19. (Photo: schankz/Shutterstock)

2014-3-11 | News Americas

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: New research from the U.S. has suggested that higher levels of cariogenic bacteria in a mother's mouth could be a reliable indicator of childhood caries in her child. The recently published study showed that maternal salivary bacterial challenge not only is associated with oral infection among children, but also predicts increased early childhood caries occurrence.

In the study, researchers at the University of California collected dental and salivary bacterial samples at three- to six-month intervals from low-income Hispanic mothers and their children from pregnancy through 36 months postpartum to calculate the child caries incidence. In total, the study included 243 mother–child dyads.

Over the course of the study, the researchers found that salivary levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were greater among mothers of caries-affected children compared with caries-free children. Overall, they observed that the incidence of caries was twice as high in children with mothers who had higher levels of bacteria. 

According to the American Dental Association, cariogenic bacteria, and mutans streptococci in particular, are transmitted soon after the first teeth erupt. The association thus recommends that parents, including expectant parents, visit a dentist to decrease the mother's mutans levels to decrease the child's risk of developing early childhood caries.

The study, titled "Maternal Oral Bacterial Levels Predict Early Childhood Caries Development," was published online in Dec. 19, 2013, in the Journal of Dental Research ahead of print.