Passive Smoking and Oral Health of Infants, Pre-schoolers and Children: A Systematic Review.

The evidence from this review that environmental tobacco smoke and passive smoking is a risk factor for oral health conditions, both prenatally and postnatally during early childhood, justifies all health professionals paying more attention to passive smoking when conducting paediatric patient histories. Early intervention and appropriate parental education regarding the effects of second-hand smoke on infants and children will allow for the minimisation of dental caries, improvement in oral health outcomes and overall reduction in smoking-associated systemic conditions for the children exposed.