Prevention of maternal bacterial transmission on children's dental-caries-development: 4-year results of a pilot study in a rural-child population

AimDental caries with its bacterial agent is an infectious disease, and shows a vertical transmission. The control of bacterial transmission of Mutans streptococci (MS) from mother to child has been studied, and its results on their children's caries development, and on their siblings’ bacterial levels, have been analysed in a field-trial (for 4 years) in rural area.Material and methodsIn the same tribe, 8 mothers and their 11 children (test children [TC]), and then (following years) their 9 siblings (test sibling [TSb]), were followed for 4 years. The study started when the TC group had just started to erupt. Test mothers were subjected to a preventive regime. Examination of caries development as well as determination of plaque levels of MS in TC and TSb were carried out annually and at 6-month intervals. At the end of 4 years, two control groups (control children [CC] and control siblings [CSb]) resembling TC and TSb were selected from the other tribe living in the same village, and bacterial data and caries status were compared to both test groups.ResultsMicrobial data demonstrated that the test children (p < 0.01) and test siblings (p < 0.05) had significantly low bacterial level in plaque samples. Accordingly, TC had significantly low dmf-t and -s number compared to corresponding control group (p < 0.001 for dmf-t, p < 0.0001 for dmf-s).ConclusionThe preventive regimen was applicable in rural southeastern Anatolia, where an introverted life style with a great tribal system is prevailing, any other preventive measures may have been practical or available, and babies are basically cared by mothers.