Dental Caries Research Paper

Women are often unaware of the importance of visiting the dentist while pregnant and therefore do not make their oral health a priority during this time. Dental visits are not only important to the mother, but are just as important to the baby. While the baby is in utero, they begin to develop their features, including their primary teeth. You cannot physically see these teeth when you look in their mouths because they are in the alveolar bone and do not erupt until the baby is a few months old. The mother must first take care of herself during and after the pregnancy so that she and the baby are healthy. The mother must also become knowledgeable about the importance of keeping the baby’s oral cavity clean. Dental visits during pregnancy
Dental Caries is the number one chronic childhood disease in the entire United States of America. According to Foster “ECC is a chronic bacterial infection that causes severe tooth decay and can begin to develop before baby teeth erupt” (Foster). As babies grow so do their oral cavity, they begin to develop tooth buds which is the crown of the tooth trying to get through the alveolar bone and the gingiva. The baby goes through the teething process, and mothers gives child whatever they desire because they are going through some much. As a baby begins to grow the mother may switch up on different methods of feeding from breast milk, whole milk in bottles, juice in sippy cups, and also spoons from mother-to-child. Children from the ages of 0-12 months is where it all begins. Young children began to eat to get tired of the same foods and start wanting solid foods, and once they get a little taste they want more and more of those solid foods, which is where mother-to-child feeding takes place which can be harmful to the child. Any saliva that harbors bacteria is harmful to the child’s well-being because bacteria lives everywhere and they can cause diseases such as periodontal disease. If the mother has infectious saliva and the child eats off the mother they can contract the same infectious body fluid. When the child starts to consume solid foods they need to eat healthy. During their three meals a day they need to eat their snacks at the same time because if the snack is consumed an hour later after the meal the child would have re-brush their teeth. It makes it easier for the child to consume their snacks and meal together because they wouldn’t have to re-brush and floss their teeth. Solid food contain starches, lipids, and