Are Bad Teeth Inherited? Do you know a family with bad teeth? Parents can pass on bad teeth to their children - but not in the way you think! 

This is how bad teeth are “given” to children: Tooth bacteria can only grow on teeth. Tooth bacteria need a tooth - so they cannot live in a baby’s mouth before a tooth erupts. There are no tooth bacteria for the first six months of a baby’s life when there are no teeth.  

When the first tooth erupts – usually around 6 or 7 months of age: 

• The tooth erupts without bacteria on it.
• There are no tooth bacteria in the mouth.
• The bacteria for this first tooth have to come from another tooth – but from where?

It isn’t genetics–tooth decay is an infectious disease!
Parents usually transfer (or “infect”) their children with tooth bacteria from their own saliva – off their own teeth - through kissing or sharing food, on silverware or tooth brushes. If there are siblings, it may be a sister or brother’s tooth – by sharing toys - even at day care.  

There are two kinds of bacteria on teeth - healthy, protective ones or harmful aggressive ones.  If parents have harmful aggressive bacteria in their mouths – they are likely to pass these to the new baby tooth.  The earlier a child is infected with harmful germs the greater chance the child will have bad teeth for life. Children infected with harmful germs by two years old have more bad baby teeth and bad adult teeth. Aggressive tooth bacteria can be passed through generations within a family. 

What will protect your family?You can stop the pattern of tooth decay in your family. Your children do not have to suffer the same dental problems that you have. Some people say “don’t kiss your baby” – that is ridiculous! If you don’t kiss your baby – someone else will! Ideally – parents and the immediate family should get rid of harmful bacteria from their mouths before their baby has teeth.  

Eat 6-10 grams of delicious xylitol each day for 6 months! Xylitol will progressively remove harmful bacteria from the mouth.  

Research shows that mothers who chewed 100 percent xylitol-coated chewing gum were 80 percent less likely to infect their children with harmful mouth bacteria. As the child grows, or if you think teeth may already be infected, use 6.4 grams of xylitol for the child in drinks or cereal throughout the day. If the child uses xylitol in this way the new teeth will have protective bacteria on them as the child grows. 

Research shows that it does not matter how you use the xylitol. It can be granular, on gum, in mints or sprayed, wiped or brushed onto or around teeth. Xylitol can be baked into cakes, cookies or ice cream and works just as well for teeth. Add xylitol to a baby bottle, use a xylitol baby tooth wipe (Spiffies) to clean a baby tooth after nursing or sprinkle xylitol on fruit or cereal in place of sugar. As a child gets older there is kids gum or fruit mints that children like to eat in place of candy.  

Baby teeth do matter–children with decay in their baby teeth are nearly 3 times more likely to have decay in their permanent teeth. Baby teeth keep the space for the permanent ones. Infected baby teeth will infect the new adult teeth. Eating xylitol (and products with xylitol such as Zellies), can change this pattern.

Use xylitol to protect your family…for generations.

Ellie Phillips, DDS

www.zellies.com