Study: Children Living With Smokers More Likely To Develop Caries.

Study: Children Living With Smokers More Likely To Develop Caries.

Reuters (10/31, Rapaport) reported in continuing coverage that a study by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan found young children living in households with smokers were more likely to develop caries. The study found that children living with smokers were more than twice as likely to develop dental caries at three years of age than those who lived in non-smoking households. American Dental Association spokesperson Jonathan Shenkin said the study adds to the evidence that there is an association between secondhand smoke exposure and caries development in children.

The ADA (10/23) reported that “consistent with previous reports, infants exposed to secondhand smoke at 4-months-old seem more likely to develop caries by 3 years of age,” according to the study, which is published in the BMJ.