Exposure to tobacco smoke during early childhood increases the risk of dental caries later in life, claims a comprehensive Japanese study.
13 June, 2016, Basel - In a study of over 76´000 Japanese children published in BMJ (2015;351:h5397), exposure to tobacco smoke during infancy was associated with an approximately twofold increased risk of caries in deciduous teeth. The risk of caries was also increased by 1.5-fold among infants exposed to smoking in the household, whereas the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy was only 1.1-fold.
Although these findings do not establish causality, they demonstrate that poor parental health behaviour is also reflected in the dental health of their children. Therefore, for best benefits, health education should reach both parents and children.
The full study can be downloaded from here.
