Children likelier to see dentist if parents have regular visits

A new study shows that 77 percent of children and 64 percent of parents had seen a dentist in the previous year. About 86 percent of children whose parents had a dental visit during the preceding year had a dental exam, compared to about 63 percent of the children whose parents had not seen a dentist.

The data is from a recent National Health Interview Study of 6,107 children age 2 to 17 and their parents. The findings show that programs that promote children's oral health also should target their parents, said the study's author, Inyang Isong, M.D., a pediatrician and research fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy.

About 76 percent of parents in the study were employed and had health insurance. However, financial barriers still kept some of those families from seeing a dentist. Some parents delayed dental care due to cost, and 27 percent of their children also had care deferred.

Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States, especially among minority children and those from lower-income families, thus "strategies to promote oral health should focus on the whole family," said Dr. Isong.

What's more, many people are unaware of the important role dental care plays in children's overall health, according to the ADA in a National Children's Dental Health Month news release.

The ADA recommends that parents take action early to ensure the health of their children's teeth because attitudes and habits established at an early age are critical in maintaining good oral health throughout life.

Red wine helps in oral health!!!

Studies in Italy have shown that chemicals in red wine called proanthocyanidins, phytonutrients found in foods like grapes, apples and chocolate that have antioxidant properties, seem to prevent the bacteria Streptococcus mutans, which causes tooth decay, from sticking to saliva and teeth.

Italian researchers removed the alcohol from a high-quality Italian red wine, then added the nonalcoholic red wine to cultures of S. mutans in saliva, saliva-coated extracted teeth and saliva-coated calcium ceramic beads. They found that the addition of the wine prevented the bacteria clinging to the saliva and the teeth.

The Italian researchers say they would like to study the effects of grape juice on S. mutans in the future.

Research conducted at Cornell University in New York and in Canada found that polyphenols, or chemicals in grape seeds and red wine that help neutralize the damaging effect of damaging free radical atoms in the body, seem to help limit inflammation caused by gingivitis, or bacterial infections of the gums. Limiting inflammation may also protect against periodontal disease, a more serious form of gingivitis that can lead to tooth decay or tooth loss.

"Our findings demonstrate that red wine polyphenols have potent antioxidant properties," concluded the study authors from the Université Laval in Quebec, Canada.

Research isn't as clear about benefits of white wines, and some researchers say the high acid content of white wine might erode tooth enamel