Is it true that caries can be infected through a kiss?

There is a fear that caries, the most common tooth disease, can be picked up through a kiss. We decided to check whether such fear is justified by scientific data.

About this possibility regularly Report Media - like in materials About the health of the teeth, and in articlesdedicated to kisses. With significant reservations About the risk of infecting caries during a kiss They tell and experts c articles On the sites of dental clinics and in professional blogs. However, some clinics Publishing This is a statement without reservations or almost Without them. And in a number of publications, it is allegedly approved The opposite - Kisses can be protected from caries.

Caries is Pathological processthat is accompanied by the destruction of solid tooth tissues. It begins with the demineralization of the inorganic part of the enamel under the influence of acids secreted by bacteria of the oral cavity. At this stage, the formation of a chalk spot occurs - the enamel changes color, but remains smooth. As caries develops, the enamel is destroyed, which leads to the formation of the cavity. If the process does not stop, it can spread to pulp (a fabric containing blood vessels and nerve fibers), and even on a periodontal (fabric surrounding and holding a tooth in the hole). 

The main one cause The development of caries is a prolonged effect on the tooth of acids formed by bacteria in the oral cavity during carbohydrate splitting. In other words, we are talking about the coincidence of three factors at once:

• inadequate hygiene of the oral cavity, due to which acids affect the tooth longer;
• A high carbohydrate diet, in particular sucrose. The most teeth are harmful to regular snacks with such products or dessert at the end of the meal. From a hygienic point of view, it would be optimal at first to have a dessert, then the main dish, and after that - a vegetable salad;
• the activity of cariesogenic bacteria - acid -forming streptococci, in particular Streptococcus Mutans, Lactobacilli and a number of others, and, on the contrary, poorly populated oral cavity with anti -courioned flora (recent scientific discoveries Showthat there is a strain of streptococcus, which counteracts the formation of caries).

Kisses, respectively, have nothing to do with hygiene or diet. The only factor of the three listed to which they can influence is the microflora of the oral cavity. Therefore, so that the caries is transmitted from one person by another through a kiss during the exchange of biological liquids, an infection of the previously clean oral cavity cariesogenic bacteria must occur. They really Contained In saliva and can be transmitted with it from one organism to another.

However, according to statistics, such bacteria colonize the oral cavity long before a person reaches a certain age and begins to practice kisses with the exchange of biological fluids. In the USA, for example, in 2011-2016 caries was In 23.3% of children aged two to five years. By nine years old more than half of the children in the United States collided With caries on milk or permanent teeth. In Russia, the picture is even more Dressing: The prevalence of caries is 12.2% among year -old children, 27.7% - among two -year -olds, 57.7% - three -year -olds, 64.2% - four -year -olds, 78.3% - five -year -olds, 85.4% - six -year -olds.

The fact is that even before the age of kisses with the exchange of biological fluids, the child falls into many other situations in which infection occurs. AdultsConducting the baby, Determine The food temperature or tasting food with the same cutlery that feed the child, lick a nipple or dummy, give the child to try already bitten food, etc. The transmission of cariesogenic bacteria can occur even due to the contact of the dentists of an adult and the child. Moreover, microparticles saliva with cariesogenic bacteria can To get to the child’s food even when an adult blows at her to cool. The transfer is also possible through kisses, for example, the fingers of the pens or legs of the child - the saliva particles with bacteria remain on the skin, and then the baby licks his fingers and is infected with cariesogenic bacteria. In addition, the vast majority of children are not able to properly monitor the hygiene of the oral cavity. Finally, food rich in carbohydrates is a favorite in most children. All this creates ideal conditions for the development of caries even at the stage of milk teeth. Therefore, by the age of the first kiss, almost any person is already infected with cariesogenic bacteria. You should also not lose sight of various contacts between children, which create the opportunity for the transmission of bacteria from a sick child to a healthy - the use of the same cutlery, dishes, the use of common food, lickening of toys, etc. 

Meta analysis of research on the ways of infection of children with cariesogenic bacteria showedthat the main transmitter of such pathogens is the mother, and the infection itself occurs at the age of the first months and years of life. Some of the studies turned on showed up to 100% of the coincidence of bacteria genotypes in the mouth of the mother and child. That is why it is so important, firstly, to protect the child from contact with adult microflora, and secondly, to monitor the health of the oral cavity with all adults caring for young children.

Thus, in theory, through a kiss with the exchange of biological liquids, you can become infected with caries, but in practice to imagine a person who, by the age of the first kiss, would not have received these bacteria in another way, is extremely difficult. Despite the fact that the share of adults with absolutely healthy teeth is extremely small (by data Centers for the control and prevention of US diseases, up to 97% of Americans suffer from caries), the very presence of carial bacteria in the oral cavity does not mean the obligatory presence of sick teeth, that is, the development of caries. Firstly, careful care of the oral cavity and the observance of an anti-carbeneous diet contribute to the fact that pathogenic flora, although present, does not have a destructive effect on the teeth. Secondly, already The mentioned Anti -charic bacteria, on the one hand, slow down the growth of cariesogenic and prevent them from creating a biofilm (the same dentist), on the other hand, they neutralize acids that form as a result of carbohydrate splitting and destroy the enamel. These two factors can together become the reason that a person with pathogenic microflora in the mouth does not necessarily suffer from dental destruction. In this case, the kiss will probably not have an undesirable effect: “useful” bacteria will also fight “harmful”, dangerous acids will form little due to a suitable diet, part of these compounds will be neutralized, and the rest is removed during regular hygiene. Finally, it cannot be excluded probability Active immune response - although bacteria will enter the oral cavity, the immunity of the recipient will destroy them and no infection will occur. And on the contrary, in situations of immunosuppression or in pathological conditions that reduce the production of saliva, the probability that other people's bacteria will “take root” above.

Currently, several research centers immediately develop vaccines against caries. Scientists examine Options for settlement of the oral cavity with safe genetically modified organisms that will compete with cariesogenic, selected Protein, which will force its own immunity to attack and destroy pathogenic microorganisms, and Trying Using a DNA vaccine, modify the toothache so that it ceases to be a nutrient medium for bacteria. However, so far all projects are under development, are tested mainly on animals and not embedded in wide practice.

Therefore, so far everything that can be done to protect against caries is to monitor the hygiene of the oral cavity and avoid excessive use of carbohydrates. It is quite pointless to abandon kisses - the vast majority of people have cariesogenic bacteria, and they have not yet leads to the development of teeth's disease. In addition, microflora, even transferred from one mouth to another, can be destroyed by immunity forces.

Image on the cover: Image by Summerstock from Pixabay

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