Pregnancy Magazine by Pamela Brooks

Farewell to Fillings?
     Xylitol has been shown to reduce tooth decay in infants - especially if their mums take it.
     We all know that plaque causes tooth decay - but did you know that you could actually pass the bacteria which live in plaque onto your baby. Studies show that children whose teeth are colonized early - often between 19-31 months of age, but sometimes earlier - by the bacteria Streptococcus mutans are more likely to have a large number of dental caries, and most children acquire the bacteria from
their mothers. Scary stuff - but the good news it that a Finnish study by Dr. Eva Soderling at the University of Turku shows that Xylitol can help to reduce the amount of streptococcus mutans in mothers; and this in turn could mean less dental treatment needed by children... 'The mother has to harbour high numbers of MS [mutans streptococcus]  in her saliva for transmission to take place,' says Dr. Soderling. 'Actions such as... food tasting, sharing cups and kissing the child will pass on several thousands of MS to them.'