is there a hereditary condition that causes baby teeth to be bad???

Question

My daughter just came from the dentist and has 5 cavities. 2 had to get temerary fillings right away. I couldnt figure it out because my daughter eats healthy foods, sure she has a few sweet snacks from time to time. she has been brushing since shes had teeth. and shes only 4 years old.
I talked to my mother in law and she said that my husband had horrible baby teeth and had to get a ton of work done when he was very small but his adult teeth came in nice. Is there a hereditary problem???

Answer 1

Very rarely does it occur that a child has dental problems
that result from heredity.

In the 15 years that I have been working for a pediatric dentist,
I can say we have had about 2 patients total that have dental
problems related to a genetic issue.

It is a misconception to think that "bad" teeth is inherited-
what could be inherited is bad habits- eating and/or
hygiene.

Although if following a healthy diet and proper hygiene is
followed, this is still no guarantee that someone will be
cavity free.

I applaud you for taking your child to the dentist. Too often
parents make the mistake of thinking "oh, they are baby teeth"
and feel there is no reason to worry. The dentist I work for
has taken many children to the hospital to be put under
general anesthesia because of the sheer number and severity
of cavities these children have.

The only advise I can offer to prevent future cavities, again,
nothing is 100%, but make sure they are being cleaned
properly and thoroughly, and flossing is real important.
They make special fun flossers you can find in a drug store
of you think that will help.
One of the biggest culprits contributing to childhood cavities
is JUICE- even all natural juice is mostly sugar. Try limiting
her intake of sugary drinks as well.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yarmiah is exactly right. Most of the children that are seen have "milk mouth" from going to bed with a bottle or the ones that drink juice before bed. This juice is acidic as well as full of natural sugar which promotes the "etching" of the enamel that leads to the decay of the tooth, or teeth. Once the etching has leached through the enamel it quickly reaches the softer dentin and it rapidly becomes decay. Just make sure to let her brush, and then you go back over (if she will let you) to make sure she did a good job and "got all sides of each of the teeth" so you can avoid any more decay. You may want to try some "disclosing tablets" with her, these will show her what she missed. That way she can have fun "seeing" the cavity creeps or bugs she's missed and brush them away again. The last thing you want to do is discourage her from brushing. So don't push too hard on her doing a better job. Maybe try eliminating the juice, milk, or sweet things that are so close to bedtime and rinsing really well any other time after she's had any of those sweet foods or drinks. Good luck and keep up the good work Mom!

Answer 3

Some baby teeth do not have adequate enamel, I do not know if this is hereditary. Certain medication taken prenatally can also damage the enamel.

The pH of your saliva can also impact your dental health. Obviously this is cause by genes and is therefore hereditary.

If the mother has a strain of strep mutans that causes tooth decay that increases the risk that the child will have that bacteria. C-sections and not breastfeeding are other risks.

There is some evidence that probiotics can help with the bacteria. And to that end there is a probiotic gum available in Europe. Not in North America that I am aware of. I haven't seen any compelling studies that the gum is any better than the capsules more commonly available.

Hope that helps