Your next question in your risk assessment of Jessie is:

Have you taken care of the cavities that were diagnosed in your mouth before Jessie was born?

Betsy admits that she didn't have the time or money to take care of her own cavities. She does state that she received dental hygiene therapy after she talked to you prior to Jessie's birth since she was concerned about having a pre-term, low-birth-weight baby.

Your response to Betsy could be:

Her existing cavities need to be taken care of in order to help reduce the reservoir of caries microorganisms that can potentially be transmitted to her baby. As stated earlier, Betsy's oral hygiene must be good and her decay must be treated in order to assist in lowering her levels of MS (mutans streptococci) that can be transmitted.

Additionally, studies have shown that frequent dental hygiene therapy (at least every 6 months) can significantly improve the oral health of both mother and child by improving oral health and assisting in reducing salivary mutans streptocci levels.