THE BACTERIA is TRANSFERRED from the MOTHER TO THE BABY
(or any other person in close contact with the baby) after his / her first tooth appears in the mouth. (Usually between 6 months - 3 years).
This TRANSFER takes place via EXCANGE OF SALIVA through:
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Kissing
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Sharing of cutlery etc.
The BACTERIAL COUNT per ml saliva from the MOTHER (or any other person in close contact with the baby) is the indicator whether intimate contact with the baby will have any effect. We all know the saying: "Don't let everyone kisses the baby on his / her mouth".
The mother with active tooth decay and big numbers of Streptococcus Mutans (>100 00 / ml saliva) infects her baby and these numbers of infection stabilize in the baby's mouth. Caries is not a highly infectious disease and therefore numerous contact of this nature is necessary to infect the baby. Mothers with a LOW Streptococcus Mutans count (< 10 000 / ml saliva) WILL NOT infect her child enough to transfer the disease to her baby! |
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Morther transfer
S.mutans to
baby |
It is very important for the mother to have the right education at this time to prevent infecting her child.
We have designed an unique programme that reduces the risk for the transfer of this infection to an absolute minimum
See our Mother & Child Program
(coming soon)
To cure this disease, we only need to REDUCE THE NUMBERS of Streptococcus Mutans / Lactobacillus to < 10 000 / ml saliva and it won't be possible to get caries (cavities) anymore! Herein lays the answer! If we can find a way to reduce the number of Streptococcus Mutans from our dental plaque, then there will be NO MORE CAVITIES!
Research is constantly being done to try and find a vaccine against Streptococcus Mutans, but so far not without great expense and side effects. You may wonder, but what about antibiotics? Remember, we are trying to find an antibiotic that ONLY targets Streptococcus Mutans and not the other NORMAL FLORA (the good bacteria) that is essential for your food digestion.
There are lots of different species (+-300) of bacteria present in our mouths that form the NORMAL FLORA that protects us from foreign invasion by other organisms. They all live in competition with each other for the same amount of terrain / habitat.
| FROM PLAQUE TO TOOTH DECAY |
As in the above diagram:
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Infected plaque (by Streptococcus Mutans) that is OLDER than 24 hours, is the cause for cavity formation. Sugar, even in the smallest amounts, that is taken in during meals will serve as the food for Streptococcus Mutans. Acid formation takes place that dissolves the enamel, which leads to the softening of the hard tooth structure. (Now you know why dentists always probe your teeth to detect these soft lesions)
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When the enamel decalcifies (softens), Streptococcus Mutans can move to the deeper layers of the tooth where the process continues and cavity formation takes place.
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Most people will get these areas drilled and filled by their dentist, but the existing plaque in the saliva still contains high quantities of Streptococcus Mutans.
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The same process of cavity formation will take place and as you can see only the symptoms are treated.
Note: It is not enough to just have your decayed tooth drilled and filled by your dentist!
HIGH RISK patients that have a Streptococcus Mutans count of
> 1000 000 / ml of saliva, will have a hard time keeping these organisms away from their teeth only through normal brushing and flossing!
See our STOP GETTING CAVITIES PROGRAM
(coming soon)
Now you know why some people just keep on getting cavities, year after year and frankly - Dentistry doesn't come cheap! Small fillings end up in bigger fillings, which end up in dental crowns, which end up in Root Canal Treatments. No wonder many patients walk into our surgery requesting to have all their teeth removed and to be replaced by false teeth. Of course they are only joking, but that already tells us they are desperate!
Take control of your mouth NOW!
STOP TOOTH DECAY in its tracks!
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