“Jedes kind kostet die mutter einen zahn” – Germany
“Un enfant, une dent” – France
“Minden gyermekért egy fogat” – Hungary
It’s a universal “old wives’ tale” repeated around the globe. Moms know that it’s true. “I have had three pregnancies and my teeth are paying for it…” writes one Mom to us recently.
Tooth loss, cavities, gingivitis, and sensitive teeth can be unwelcomed side effects of having children.
Science has long been skeptical of these anecdotal claims. However, that appears to be changing. In a 2008 study of 2635 America women, Dr Stephanie Russell at New York University found a strong relationship between tooth loss and the number of offspring.
Women with four or more pregnancies were likely on average to have lost five or six times as many teeth compared to their childless counterparts. This was evident across all socio-economic levels and ages. According to Dr Russell, profound biological and behavioral changes related to pregnancy and child birth are likely to be a factor in tooth loss.
However, the authors of the study were not able to explain the causes of the tooth loss. Despite the data coming from the “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey”, beyond the consumption of sugar, nutrition or nutritional deficiency was not even considered as a possible factor in the study.
Tooth loss was not shown to be related to sugar intake.
Even among women in the highest socioeconomic level, tooth loss increased with the number of pregnancies. These women are most likely to not only have dental insurance coverage, but to also most frequently visit their dentist. So it’s not the lack of dental care either.
At The Dental Essentials we are convinced that nutritional deficiencies are at the heart of tooth decay and other dental health issues. Correct these deficiencies, and you can eliminate up to 95% of cavities.
It’s not only for Moms. There is a strong correlation between maternal oral health and that of the offspring. If Mom has cavities, then baby is also much more likely to develop childhood tooth decay and other dental problems. So by protecting her own dental health, Mom is also giving her children the best shot at a cavity-free childhood.
Thank you very good information
Great work here, I just found your blog and I’ll be adding it to my RSS reader. I’m glad to see someone else writing about healing tooth decay.
Thanks Stephan. If you haven’t come across the 1952 literature review by James Shaw “Nutrition and Dental Caries” I most highly recommend it. It can be downloaded from Google Books here. A lengthy, thorough, state-of-the-art review that covers much of the nutritional research up to that time (and there was a lot). The extensive bibliography is to die for.
Best Regards
Rob
Thanks, I’ll check it out.