What are the Consequences? Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood. In fact, it is five times more common than asthma. Untreated caries can lead to local and systemic complications, such as: Facial cellulitis Pain Nutritional & growth changes What can be Done? There is promising evidence to show that caregivers can decrease their risk of passing on mutans streptococci to their children by decreasing their own caries levels. Promising strategies include: Receiving regular comprehensive dental care that begins during pregnancy because caries causing bacteria are passed to infants as early as 6 months of age Limiting the frequency of sugar in the diet Maintaining excellent oral hygiene and using fluoride containing toothpaste Using preventive agents such as : Topical fluoride rinses Anti-bacterial mouthrinses such as chlorhexidene (for short periods of time ie. weeks, as prolonged use can lead to darkening of the tongue) Xylitol containing gums chewed 4 times per day References US Department of Health and Human Services. Oral health in America. A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health; 2000. Ramos-Gomez FJ, Weintraub JA, Ganskyet SA, et al. Bacterial, behavioral and environmental factors associated with early childhood caries. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry. 2002; 26(2):165-173. Douglass JM, LI Y, Tinanoff N. Systematic review of the association between mutans streptococci in primary caregivers and mutans streptococci and dental caries in their children. Pediatric Dentistry 2008, 30(5):375-387. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Guideline on Perinatal Oral Health Care. Revised 2011. 33(6): 118-123.