Question:
Decay is the leading cause behind lost teeth in young people
and dental problems for young as well as older individuals.
Periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss in adults.
Are those transmittable diseases within a family?
For example, cariogenic bacteria may infect another family
member, e.g. through the saliva. The saliva maybe is a trans-
mitting vehicle of periodontitis causing agents aswell.
Would this indicate that children and couples are at risk for
contracting those diseases if one person in the family is severly
compromised?
Does this mean that anti-caries and perio treatment should target
the whole family if one person has either of those diseases?
All family members would need a periodontal screening ?
It would be interesting to hear what all my esteemed collegues out
there think of this.
And, if you work like this, to learn why you work according to this
conception?
Answer:
Very likely. There was an article a
while back suggesting that a mother
may be infecting her infant by testing
the baby food on the same spoon she
gives to the child. Therefore she is
innoculating the child with S. mutans.
Sorry I don't remember the journal.
Anecdotally, how many times do you see
couples, where if one of the partners has
severe periodontal disease the other spouse
also has a similar problem. Of course
this probably is a mutifactorial phenomena
(eg smoking).
I coulnd't agree more. The comment about gingivitis being the first level of
periodontitis is typical of our long standing beliefs about perio. Along the
same lines, we've all seen the poster that is in many hygiene areas: "You only
have to floss the teeth you want to keep."
In fact, host resistance has a lot more to do with perio disease than we want
to give credit for. Many people despite minimal hygiene never develop more
than gingivitis. Why? Is it because they've never kissed anyone with
periodontal disease or is it because they have no susceptibility.
