One serious form of decay among young children is baby bottle tooth decay. This condition is caused by frequent and long exposures of an infant’s teeth to liquids that contain sugar. Among these liquids are milk (including breast milk), formula, fruit juice and other sweetened drinks.

Putting a baby to bed for a nap or at night with a bottle other than water can cause serious and rapid tooth decay. Sweet liquid pools around the child’s teeth giving plaque bacteria an opportunity to produce acids that attack tooth enamel. If you must give the baby a bottle as a comforter at bedtime, it should contain only water.

Encourage your child to drink from a cup as they approach their first birthday. Children should not fall asleep with a bottle. At-will night time breast-feeding should be avoided after the first primary (baby) teeth begin to erupt. Drinking juice from a bottle should be avoided; it should be in a cup, and they should drink no more than 4oz per day. Children should be weaned from the bottle at 12-14 months of age.

Avoid Baby Bottle Carries

As pediatric dentists, we are well-familiarized with the practices to follow for preventing caries in both infants and older children. In particular, we stress that preventative measures be taken for cavity prevention when a child is just an infant as doing so can save a parent from future emergency treatments and developmental problems down the road.

One of the issues we often face as pediatric dentists is the decay that results from a child’s use of a baby bottle. Baby bottle caries form when bacteria attack surface teeth that have been exposed to liquids, such as milk and fruit juices, that remain on the teeth and break down into simple sugars.

In order to prevent the problem, we recommend that parents give their child plain water or a pacifier instead of milk or sugared liquids. Also, don’t dip the pacifier into any kind of sugary substance, including honey.

Parents should also refrain from giving their baby sugary drinks at bedtime. Again, plain water is the best liquid to give a developing child. Use a wet cloth to wipe away plaque from the gums and teeth after a child is done feeding. Avoiding sugar and keeping your child’s teeth and gums clean is necessary for his oral health and overall development.