04 Apr 2023 If you have inherited your mother’s eyes or your father’s bone structure, it is only fair that you will probably inherited their dental ailments too. Like certain other features in your body, your oral health condition is heavily influenced by your genes too. A case of crooked teeth might be inherited by the off springs through many generations. There are also chances that you might have picked up your parent’s poor oral health regimen, or habits that have harmful effects o your dental health and oral hygiene. However, it is also slightly unfair to blame all of it on the genes alone.
Are you worried about losing your precious pearls to tooth decay at an early age, because your mother/ father/ or grand parents lost theirs early? Is it because you are already struggling with dental cavities even though you are not that old? Your concerns about hereditary links to tooth decay may have you worried that you, too, will lose your teeth at an early age. The chances are that you might be right. Here is a closer look at what you might want to know about genetic factors and tooth decay.
The Connection Between Teeth and Genes
there happens to be an intricate connection between your genetic makeup and your oral health. Some of the most talked about dental issues that can be tracked back with the help of genetics and DNA include crooked teeth, overcrowding , size and shape of your mouth and the risk of getting an oral cancer. Having said that, if any of your ancestor or family member has a prior experience of an oral health issue, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you might experience them too. It is widely known that diseases can be handed down to the off springs, but certain dental ailments don’t get transferred through the genes. Ailments like decay and discolouration are some of the issues that have very little chances of being one generation to another.
If your parents have any of the following dental issues, the chances are that you could develop them too:
Tooth Decay – Some variations of genes are slightly more susceptible to dental health diseases and oral health conditions than the others. People who stand the higher chances of being susceptible to dental ailments should discuss it with their dental health experts at the earliest. Your dental health expert might recommend a treatment, a fluoride based toothpaste or something else to ease their concern. If you happen to come across tooth decay or a hint of an impending gum disease in your mouth, it is always advisable to seek help from your dental health expert, and get it treated without further procrastination. This will prevent the situation from getting worse leading to tooth loss or oral cancer.
Misaligned Teeth – If you find that you need braces, genetics could be to blame. Your genes are responsible for the size and the development of the structure of your jaw. Misaligned or crooked teeth can be held responsible for a wide range related problems such as overcrowding, overbites, underbites and gaps. If the tendency of the teeth to be crocked or overcrowded gets detected at an earlier stage, the dental health experts might be able to recommend appliances or treatments. These treatments are meant to prevent the teeth from going awry , fix the structure and prevent the other problems from following a crooked dental alignment.
Discoloration – Do your teeth stain easily or have a noticeable discoloration almost immediately after sipping a cup of coffee or tea?the colour of your teeth gets influenced by a variety of factors, genes and the environment being the most important ones. Some people are born with a comparatively thinner enamel than the rest of us. This can make the teeth look more yellow owing to the presence of the layer of dentin, underneath the enamel. It is a usual process to lose enamel or experience the thinning of your enamel as you age, making your teeth appear more discoloured or stained.
How to Keep Your Teeth and Gums Healthy
it is quite unfortunate that you cannot possibly change your genetic traits. But, you can obviously maintain a proper oral health care regimen to maintain a strong set of teeth and your oral hygiene conditions. It is important that your brush your teeth with a fluoride-based toothpaste at least twice a day. Floss your teeth at least once a day, if not after every meal. The way you brush your teeth might also be responsible for your dental health conditions, it either make or mar your dental health regimen. Use a soft bristled tooth brush and take all the time you need. Brush your teeth in small circular motions on the front side of your teeth and the back. One of the most important steps in to clean your tongue, because it is also capable of harbouring infinite harmful oral bacteria if left uncleaned.
For the next step, you might want to upgrade your dental products. It’s recommended that your change your toothbrush every three to four months. This step makes sure thar the bristles remain effective and the bacteria don’t get a chance to accumulate in your mouth. We cannot emphasise enough on the multifaceted benefits of using a fluoride-based toothpaste. It is one of the first things that you should shift to, if you are suffering from tooth decay. Rinsing your mouth with an anti-bacterial mouth washing liquid in your daily oral health regimen is also known to work wonders. It is functional in reducing the amount of acid in your mouth, cleanse the hard-to-reach areas inside the mouth and remineralize your teeth.
Your diet also plays an important role in maintaining the health conditions of your teeth. Consider introducing crunchy and fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet, and reduce the intake of sugary and starchy food items. Crunchy food items scrape off the plaque build-up while being chewed on. Drink appropriate amount of water, it is important to keep your mouth hydrated. Try drinking a glass or at least 200ml of water after every meal. This helps to flush out residual food particles from inside your mouth. It helps in the neutralization of the acids, and reduce the negative impact of acidic and sticky foods.
Your genes can play a role in some oral health problems.
Some dental health ailments can be hereditary. something like gum disease or a misaligned bite are both related to genetic factors, for instance. If your parents struggled with gums ailments, there are chances that you might have them too. Oral cancer can also be directly linked to genetics. Therefore, if any of your biological parents suffered from oral cancer, it is better to remain under regular health check ups to be able to identify it at the earliest.
Cavities and decay are not typically relative to genetics.
Scientifically speaking, cavities and decay are not considered to be genetically related by majority of the dentists.But this is a debatable topic in the scientific community and the community of the dentists. Some studies have claimed some people have teeth which are comparatively more susceptible to cavities, but thar information is not all conclusive. If your parents suffered from tooth decay and had to get it removed at an early age, this does not necessarily mandate that you will meet the same fate. There are multiple other factors which influence and enhance the conditions for tooth decay. They have been discussed in detail in the next paragraph.
Poor oral hygiene habits can be family-learned.
Even though we don’t have any all-conclusive proof which will directly establish a link between tooth decay and genetic ailment. Having said that, it is also true that members of the same family might struggle with similar dental health issues, like tooth decay. More often that not, this can be blamed on the facts that the children pick up the habits of their parents, even dental health habits. If the parents are not responsible enough to maintain a good and proper dental health and oral hygiene regimen themselves, it is likely that the children will not care for them either. If the children grow up seeing their family members brushing and flossing their teeth at least twice a day, chances are that the kids will follow them too.
Again, when the members of the same family have similar diets; if someone in the family is always baking cookies and serving sugary or starchy food items, just about everyone in the house will take part. Of course, your poor dietary choices can lead to dental health concerns, even the serious ones. Children even pick up habits like the consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking, from their parents and elders. These items can also have detrimental effects on dental health.
Conclusion.
Like we have already mentioned, only certain aspects of the dental health conditions can be directly influenced by the genetic structure, like alignment and colour. Issues like tooth decay cannot be directly linked to the genetic structure. It is mostly dependent on the habits that someone picks up as a child, and the ones that the person keeps practicing as an adult.