Dental caries: a disease which needs attention

can infants catch caries? The answer is yes, and there is
strong evidence to suggest that they do so primarily from their
mothers. The earlier MS is detected in the oral cavity the more
likely the child will be to develop dental caries, with those at
highest risk being those in whom MS is detected before two years
of age. Infants are susceptible to MS infection before as well
during the eruption of their primary teeth. Colonization is more
likely when the maternal salivary MS levels are high, when there
is frequent salivary contact between mother and child, and when
the diet is high in sucrose. From the literature, we can conclude
that mothers are the most common but not the exclusive source
of MS infection