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Baby Bottle
Tooth Decay—
How to Prevent It |
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Proper dental care is a
lifelong commitment that starts even before your baby’s first tooth forms.
While daily cleanings and fluoride are important, they alone may not prevent
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (BBTD), a major cause of tooth decay in infants.
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay is costly to treat. If left untreated, however, it
can quickly destroy the teeth involved. It also can lead to pain, infection,
early loss of baby teeth, crooked permanent teeth, and an increased risk of
decay in permanent teeth. When you consider the possible dental problems
that can result from BBTD and the cost of treating those problems, it is
best to prevent BBTD from developing in the first place.
How Does Baby Bottle Tooth Decay
Develop?
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay can
develop if your child’s teeth and gums are in prolonged contact with almost
any liquid other than water. This can happen from putting your child to bed
with a bottle of formula, milk, juice, soft drinks, sugar water, sugared
drinks, etc. Allowing your baby to suck on a bottle or breastfeed for longer
than a mealtime, either when awake or asleep, also can cause BBTD.
When liquid from a baby bottle
builds up in the mouth, the natural or added sugars found in the liquid are
changed to acid by germs in the mouth. This acid then starts to dissolve the
teeth (mainly the upper front teeth), causing them to decay. Baby Bottle
Tooth Decay can lead to severe damage to your child’s baby teeth and also
can cause dental problems that affect your child’s permanent teeth.
Why Are Baby Teeth Important?
Many parents assume that decay
does not matter in baby teeth because the teeth will fall out anyway, but
decay in baby teeth poses risks. If your child loses his baby teeth too
early because of decay or infection, the permanent teeth will not be ready
to replace them yet. Baby teeth act as a guide for the permanent teeth. If
baby teeth are lost too early, the teeth that are left may shift position to
fill in the gaps. This may not leave any room for the permanent teeth to
come in.
What Can I Do to Prevent Baby
Bottle Tooth Decay?
Take the following steps to
prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay:
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Never put your child to bed
with a bottle. By 7 or 8 months of age, most children no longer need
feedings during the night. Children who drink bottles while lying down
also may be more prone to getting ear infections. |
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Only give your baby a bottle
during meals. Do not use the bottle as a pacifier; do not allow your child
to walk around with it or to drink it for extended periods. These
practices not only may lead to BBTD, but children can suffer tooth
injuries if they fall while sucking on a bottle. |
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Teach your child to drink from
a cup as soon as possible, usually by 1 year of age. Drinking from a cup
does not cause the liquid to collect around the teeth, and a cup cannot be
taken to bed. If you are concerned that a cup may be messier than a
bottle, especially when you are away from home, use one that has a snap-on
lid with a straw or a special valve to prevent spilling. |
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If your child must have a
bottle for long periods, fill it only with water. |
Keeping your baby’s mouth clean
is also important in preventing tooth decay. After feedings, gently brush
your baby’s gums and any baby teeth with a soft infant toothbrush.
Start using water and a soft
child-sized toothbrush for daily cleanings once your child has seven to
eight teeth. By the time your toddler is 2 years of age, you should be
brushing her teeth once or twice a day, prefer-ably after breakfast and
before bedtime.
Begin using a fluoride toothpaste
when you are sure the toothpaste will not be swallowed (usually when your
child is around 3 years of age). Use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to
limit the amount your child can swallow.
Too much fluoride can be harmful
to a child.
Detect
Decay Early
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay first
shows up as white spots on the upper front teeth.
These spots are hard to see at
first—even for a pediatrician or dentist—without proper equipment. A child
with tooth decay needs to get treatment early to stop the decay from
spreading and to prevent lasting damage to the teeth.
If you are concerned that your
child may have BBTD, your pediatrician can refer you to a pediatric dentist
who will carefully examine your child’s teeth for signs of decay.
With the right balance of proper
home and professional dental care, your child can grow up to have healthy
teeth for a lifetime of smiles.
The information contained in this publication should not be used as a
substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may
be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on
individual facts and circumstances.
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