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"Soft" Teeth
Cavities Waiting to Happen By Felicia Hodges
But even though genetic dental difficulties do exist, some dentists, like Dr. Malcolm Foster, a pediatric dentist in Maine, believe that inherited bad teeth occur only in a very small percentage of the U.S. population. "Usually, dietary and oral hygiene habits play a more important role in the number of decayed teeth a child may have," Dr. Foster says. "Granted, there are certain illnesses and syndromes that are inherited, by the effects they have on teeth are secondary in nature. In other words, [heredity] only increases the chance of the teeth becoming decayed. [These conditions] do not cause cavities. Only sugar causes cavities."
Dr. Foster also says that some children, even though they practice good dental hygiene and avoid sugar, do tend to get more than the average number of cavities. There are also children who hardly ever floss, eat sugar enough for10 children and still get few if any cavities at all. "There will always be a few born with a good set of teeth," Dr. Foster says. "One thing, though, is certain inheriting bad teeth is rare."
"But family history is important," Dr. Lacedo says. "If other conditions like baby bottle syndrome have been ruled out and the family is brushing, flossing and avoiding the bad things, it might be a big factor."