A new study suggests dental teams should work with pregnant women in an effort to 'break the cycle' of 'inherited' periodontal disease.

Adults with periodontitis transmit bacteria that can cause the disease in future to their children, the study suggests. This bacteria remain in the oral cavity even when the children undergo treatment of various kinds, reinforcing the need for preventive care in the first year of a baby’s life.

The work, conducted at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, found that the parents’ oral microbiome is a 'determinant of the subgingival microbial colonisation of their children'.

The article’s authors conclude that 'dysbiotic microbiota acquired by children of periodontitis patients at an early age are resilient to shift and the community structure is maintained even after controlling the hygiene status'.

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