Early Childhood Tooth Decay: Another Theory Bites the Dust

On tonight's local news: the latest theory is that the rise in early-childhood tooth decay in caused by toddlers and infants not getting enough fluoridated water...

The first point they managed to miss in the "people can't really be that stupid, can they?" is all it takes is a little walk back through time to unravel this latest so-called "discovery." An amazing increase in this problem, they say? In effervescently chasing down new theories, how could they have missed the fact that such a problem with little kids' teeth did not exist a few decades in the past before fluoridated water was widely available. So... if fluoridated water is the issue, what accounted for children's dental health back when it didn't exist?

In seeking reasons and coming up with the wrong one, they are conveniently bypassing factors which are relevant-- drastic changes in the way people care for infants and small children.

The first change is that it's become increasingly popular-- and "acceptable"-- for mothers or caregivers to no longer feed a child, but to simply allow him to feed himself. In the not-too-distant past, infants and small children were fed at regular intervals. For those who don't remember, or are too young to have been around, it meant picking up the baby, feeding the milk or formula to him, and then washing the bottle afterward. It was a similar experience with little toddlers who were not yet drinking from cups or glasses.

Somewhere along the line, people decided they did not want to do that anymore. They didn't have the time. Feeding a toddler has come to mean handing him a bottle, which he then carries around for hours at a time-- not only causing health aggravations such as stomach distress from the milk or formula not being freshly made, but, relevant to this "new theory," a child who is walking around with a bottle results in some amount of liquid remaining in his mouth for long periods of time-- which is enough to start deteriorating a child's soft tooth enamel.

With infants, who are not yet able to manage a bottle on their own, it is stunning to see how many caregivers believe it acceptable to routinely prop a bottle onto a pillow, a folded blanket, or even a large stuffed animal, so that the baby can drink from it unsupervised, and accumulate pools of liquid in his mouth.

Another unhealthy habit, which is very popular in many parts of the United States these days, is the pacifier. Unhealthy in virtually every way possible, it also has a similar effect of contributing to tooth decay by the saliva it causes to form in a child's mouth.

No, the "increasing rate" of tooth decay in little children is not because they are not drinking enough fluoridated water. It's hard to comprehend how and where people come up with this ridiculous theories-- do they actually believe such nonsense is fact, or are they only handing out more and more excuses so that mothers do not feel guilty about spending less and less time with their children, and doing less and less for their children?