* Early childhood caries/Dental caries are the most common chronic INFECTIOUS Disease of childhood, 5x more frequent than asthma! * Dry mouths (from medicines and increasing age) are at high risk of oral disease - Copious amounts of saliva are key to buffer the acid produced by the normal oral bacterial flora when we eat. This acid erodes our tooth enamel. * Frequent intake of sugar containing foods and beverages (less than every 2 hours) is causing an increase in decay of teeth in our society - it takes 40 minutes for saliva to buffer the acid generated by bacteria feeding on the sugar in foods and beverages. * Sippy cups from which children or adults drink frequently should contain ONLY PLAIN FLUORIDATED WATER. continued on next page SUMMER 2019 | 17