Who is spreading all of this Dental Caries disease?? find them and stop it!!

Dental Caries is the most experienced disease in the world. It is the #1 disease amongst children. It is considered pandemic in the world. It is epidemic with toddlers in this nation and heading towards pandemic in the senior citizen population. 2010 estimated cost for dental expenditures in the nation is: $119.3 billion and the federal government estimate for 2015 is $165.7 billion and rising. .Dental care costs have been described as "skyrocketing" and "out of control".

In Utah, a study by a large dental insurance company stated that 99% of Utahns experience dental decay by the time they are 45 years of age. The estimated cost of dental care in Utah for 2010 is about $960 million.

SO WHERE IS ALL OF THIS DISEASE COMING FROM??
When a baby is born there are no bacteria in the mouth. If that child has any cavities, the cavities were caused by a complex bacterial infection.(Cariogenic Biofilm or Dental Caries). Where did it come from? It had to be a live transmission into the mouth of the baby. Finding the answer to that will be the beginning of eradicating Dental Caries from Utah and the nation.

With a research grant from the Gerber Foundation, the New York University College of Dentistry Department of Pediatric Dentistry, using "Seriology" and "DNA fingerprinting" and found the "primary source of infection".
"...caries is an infectious, transmissible disease..and the bacterial acquisition by children, the source of infection was primarily the mother, as was shown by serology and DNA fingerprinting". " A spoon carried from the mother had a sufficient inoculum....to effect transmission and colonization."

The California Dental Association Journal stated that the number one risk factor for a child is parents who have cavities.

The infection that causes caries has been described as "infectious in nature" and can be "spread" "from parent or caregiver to child or even from child to child".

So we have this highly infectious and transmissible disease spread from parents to children(vertical transmission) and spreads within the family and even out to others or into the family from others(horizontal transmission).

We now need to clarify a very important point. Dental Caries is the name of the disease that causes the "symptoms" of "cavities" or "dental decay". A person can have Dental Caries in the mouth and not have visible signs on the teeth......yet.

The disease Dental Caries is considered a "silent" disease since it can exist in a mouth for years before exhibiting any symptoms or "cavities". A person such as this can still be contagious and due to the "infectious nature" of the disease can be spreading it within his family and everybody else without realizing it. This person could be described as a "carrier", having the disease but not being sick himself.

This would explain why so many people I meet claim they do not have cavities or say they haven't had a cavity for years and years and yet 99% of Utahns are getting it from somewhere! It is my opinion that every person in Utah either has the disease Dental Caries in their mouth or is a Carrier still capable of spreading it to others around me.

In the medical field, there are "underdiagnosed" diseases and people who are "carriers" of diseases without knowing it. It has been explained that there is a "lack of proper understanding about a condition" that lets it avoid detection by a health professional or patient and the lack of symptoms allows the disease to remain hidden but still contagious. Oral disease can also fall into this category.

A well informed health professional who is aware of the possibility of a disease existing but undiagnosed, understands the "critical aspect of prevention" of early detection and recommend the appropriate test to detect a silent or hidden disease. Some silent diseases can be detected with genetic analysis, blood tests and a variety of others using more and more sophisticated technology for accurate diagnosis. Fortunately in "modern dentistry" the "Caries Risk Assessment" and the "Cariscreen ATP meter" can be used for a very accurate detection of the presence of a silent case of Dental Caries when patients deny that they have dental caries disease.

With a predominance of dentists still ascribing to "traditional" or "drill and fill" dental care paradigm, their "hallmark of detecting frank cavities and placing restorations" gives serious misinformation to patients that somehow fillings have any affect on the Dental Caries disease. "Drilling and filling has had little impact in controlling the national caries rate and misses the point as a long-term prevention solution".

So it is obvious with 99% of Utahns having experience with dental decay, that Dental Caries is highly contagious and is being spread extremely efficiently by people who don't even know they are a carrier of the disease. A healthy biofilm is the goal of treatment and good caries risk management but it can change very quickly with no warning to the host patient. With just a change in lifestyle a well established healthy biofilm can be changed into a cariogenic biofilm within only 10 days (study by Phillip Marsh). We are well aware of the effects of "etiologic" factors affecting the disease such as diet, sugar, poor oral hygiene etc, but many people are caught off guard with the "non etiologic" factors. Stress, loss of a job, change in lifestyle or employment etc can cause a imbalance in the "caries balance" without any awareness of the patient/host.

So, the solution is for everyone to have a "caries risk assessment" and a Cariscreen ATP meter screening every 3 or 6 months, depending on the seriousness of their past experience with dental decay. If dental caries disease is detected, it can be treated promptly and damage is avoided as well as stop the spreading of it to others.

A person who is a "Carifree Certified Clinician" would be the best source of this regular screening and assessment, since they can offer the highest level of accuracy with the ATP meter screening instrument along with the Caries Risk Assessment questionnaire.

In Utah, we urgently request that everyone have this assessment and screening as soon as possible. The campaign to "Eradicate Dental Caries in Utah in 2010" needs every fellow Utahn to invite friends and relatives to participate. Call: 801 643-1812 and spend a couple of minutes with us to get on safe ground.