An interesting short excerpt from TEAMWORK - The Insiders' Guide to Quality Dentistry (Vol.4 No.2)

    "Mothers who suffer from tooth decay may double the odds that their children will develop a dental problem, according to a study puclished in the Journal of Dental Research. During the trial, researchers from the University of California in San Francisco, enrolled a total of 179 mothers in a study to determine the effects of poor dental care on their 387 children. 

    The investicators discovered that approximately 46% of mothers and 27% of their kids had untreated toothe decay. 'The oral health of parents, especially moms, can impact to oral health of children, so dentists should include the whole family in the dental care process -not just the individual in the chair- to prevent future disease' said Jane A Weintraub, a chair of the division of oral epidemiology and dental public health at the school. She adds that 'these results translate into key messages for parents, dentists and policy makers.

    Dentists should encourage all family members to get treatment, especially if a child already has tooth decay, and provide the family withtthe preventative measures, knowledge and skills to help prevent future disease'."

This just underscores the importance of our office catering to FAMILY dentistry. Don't put off an appointment for yourself, you are doing it for your kids health too. The only thing better than having the kids in for the check ups together is having moms and dads at the same time!