Children are the biggest victims of passive smoking. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 700 million children worldwide breathe air that is contaminated by secondhand smoke, a situation that is even more serious in the home environment. There has been widespread concern about the harmful effects of passive smoking on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of children. Passive smoking also has a negative impact on children’s oral health – children whose parents smoke are more likely to develop dental caries. Nicotine increases the risk of bad teeth in children A survey conducted by Okayama University in Japan, with 251 children as subjects, showed that 30% of the children surveyed had blackened gums, of which more than 70% had smokers in their homes, and almost all of the parents of the children with the most severe blackening smoked. Another survey showed that 60% of the children with the highest risk of dental caries had smokers in their homes.
Therefore, researchers believe that if parents have the habit of smoking, children are more likely to suffer from dental caries. So, what exactly is the impact of parental smoking on children’s oral health? In this regard, Dr. Wang Minyong of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the Second Clinic of Peking University Stomatological Hospital explained that dental caries is a bacterial infection disease, and Streptococcus pyogenes is the main pathogenic bacteria, which can destroy teeth by fermenting food to produce organic acid (mainly lactic acid), and its quantity directly affects the development of dental caries. In addition, saliva is an important part of the body’s own anti-caries ability, which has the role of removal (mechanical flushing, dilution) and chemical buffering for Streptococcus pyogenes and its acidic products. Researchers have found that nicotine in cigarettes promotes the growth of Streptococcus pyogenes and that mothers who smoke are more likely to transmit these bacteria to their children. In addition, nicotine has an immunosuppressive effect, decreasing vitamin C levels in the body and leading to decreased saliva production, which puts children at increased risk for tooth decay. Learn the correct way to brush and floss to prevent children’s dental caries, parents should quit smoking first. Quitting smoking is a gradual process, and parents should not smoke in front of their children until they have successfully quit smoking. In addition, the most effective way to prevent children’s tooth decay is to keep the mouth clean – correct brushing and flossing. The correct brushing method: when brushing the upper teeth, put the bristles of the toothbrush lightly on the junction of the gums and teeth, and then brush the bristles from the gums to the teeth downward through the up and down movement of the wrist like using a comb, and repeat several times in the same part; when brushing the lower teeth, use the same method to brush from the bottom to the top; when brushing the occlusal surface of the teeth, you can pull the saw back and forth. Brush carefully, inside, outside, front and back teeth, and finally don’t forget to brush the tongue as well. Doctors recommend brushing twice a day for at least 3 minutes each time. In addition, it is difficult to clean the food debris and plaque from the teeth by brushing alone, which requires flossing. There are various styles of flossing, but the basic method is to pull the floss in and then pull the floss out against the side of the tooth, and so on repeatedly to clean all the gaps without missing them. Some parents only pay attention to reminding their children to brush their teeth in the morning, but neglect to brush their teeth at night. In fact, brushing at night before going to bed is more important. During the day, the mouth is often in a state of activity, talking, chewing and drinking are not conducive to the reproduction of bacteria; in addition, saliva secretion during the day is also more, the bacteria and their acidic products have a flushing and dilution effect. While sleeping, the mouth is in a relatively static state, saliva secretion is reduced, the oral bacteria flushing effect is weakened, the bacteria will quickly multiply up. The food residues in the mouth ferment and produce acid under the action of bacteria, which can lead to tooth decay and gingivitis after a long time. Therefore, it is very important to brush the food residue and bacteria in the teeth before going to bed at night to prevent tooth decay and periodontal disease.