Throughout my dental career, I’ve had lots of conversations with people about how many cavities they or their family members have. I’ve heard the following comments so many times I’ve lost count:
- “I have so many cavities because my teeth are soft.” (Barring some genetic disorders, there really is no such thing as soft teeth.)
- “My husband brushes once a day and never flosses…he’s never had a cavity in his life and I’ve got a mouth full of fillings.”
- “I don’t understand how she gets so many cavities because she doesn’t eat sweets.”
All of these comments are based on the idea that there is one cause of cavities. In reality, the cause of cavities is based on a number of factors, but for the sake of brevity, we will discuss only the big three factors.
- Oral hygiene: You have probably heard your dentist talk about good oral hygiene and its importance in preventing cavities. It’s true, with meticulous oral hygiene, most of us can avoid the majority of cavities.
- Diet: Most people are also aware of diet as a contributing factor to cavities. There is a lot to unpack here, but you can read my blog post about whether your fizzy drink is harming your teeth here.
- Bacterial load: The amount of cavity-causing bacteria in a person’s mouth is a big contributor to cavities. This is the least talked about major cause of cavities, so I want to focus on it in this blog post.
Bacterial Load:
First, a quick review: cavities are caused by bacteria converting sugars into acids. Those acids then dissolve tooth structure. Without bacteria in your mouth, you could eat all the sugary, sticky candies you want (and never brush your teeth) and none would occur. Yeah, read that again: without certain types of bacteria in your mouth, you (mostly) cannot get cavities! (Drinking lots of acidic things would still do damage to your teeth.)
Bacterial load is the amount of cavity-causing bacteria in your mouth. The higher your load, the more at risk you are. You can reduce bacterial load through good brushing and flossing. Antibacterial mouthrinses and certain toothpastes also have antibacterial properties. These “fixes,” however, do not address another important factor: how much bacterial load you are infected with early in life. I realize the phrase “infected with,” sounds a bit aggressive, but it’s accurate. We are not born with cavity-causing bacteria in our mouths. As examples: we are infected by our parents when they clean our spoon by putting it in their mouths and we are infected when we get kissed on the lips as a baby.
There is research that shows the more cavity-causing bacteria we are infected with in the first two years of life, the more likely we are to have higher bacterial loads for the rest of our lives. For example, one study looked at bacterial load in expectant mothers. In one group they had the mothers go through many steps to reduce their bacterial load before giving birth. In the control group, the mothers took some placebo measures that did not change their bacterial load. They followed the children of these mothers for years and after they controlled for other possible variables, they found increased oral health and fewer cavities in the kids whose mothers went through regiments to reduce their bacterial levels. In summary, if the bacterial load of an expectant mother can be reduced, it may have a lifetime effect on the oral health of their children!
Don’t go blaming your parents for all of your cavities. Again, meticulous oral hygiene or cutting sugars from your diet can prevent most, but do keep this in mind for your children or your grandchildren. Consider it when you want to clean their pacifier with your mouth. Consider it when you share spoons. Consider it when you go to kiss them. Expectant mothers, now is the time for meticulous oral hygiene! By not passing on your bacteria, you might improve their oral health for a lifetime.
