How to Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Cavities can be defined as "holes that develop in teeth once they begin to decay." When you think of cavities, you probably think of that dreaded word the dentist says sometimes after he or she has checked your teeth. You probably don't associate cavities with your baby or toddler's teeth. But, you should. Baby Bottle Tooth Decay affects approximately fifteen percent of our youngest population.

Cavities are a result of the bacteria in our mouth breaking down sugars and carbohydrates that we eat or drink. These sugars turn into acids, and the acids decay our teeth. The same thing can happen to a baby's teeth. Especially since we don't brush a baby's or small toddler's teeth to remove the sugars and acids from them.

What gives Baby Bottle Tooth Decay it's name, is this health problem's main cause: baby bottles full of sweet drinks. Specifically, the cause of this type of tooth decay is putting a baby or a toddler down to nap or to bed with a bottle. He or she then sucks on the bottle until they fall asleep. Once the baby or toddler is asleep, the production of saliva, (a natural mouth cleanser), slows down. Therefore, the sugars in the sweet drink the baby or toddler was sucking on stays in its mouth the entire time it sleeps. After a time, Baby Bottle Tooth Decay can start to make cavities in the baby's or toddler's teeth.

To prevent this dental health problem, parents shouldn't put their babies or toddlers down to nap, or to bed at night, with a bottle full of sweet liquid. Examples of "sweet liquids" include soda pop, Kool-Aid™, fruit juices, baby formula and milk. It's okay for your young son or daughter to drink a baby bottle of milk PRIOR to bedtime. Just never AT bedtime.

Instead, to prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay, parents should give them baby bottles full of plain water. If your baby or toddler is already used to a bottle of milk at naptime or at bedtime, you should wean them off of it.

To do this, if the baby bottle is normally filled with eight ounces of milk, for example, simply replace an ounce of the milk with plain tap water. On the second night, replace two ounces of the milk with tap water. On the third night, make your baby or your toddler's mixture three ounces of tap water mixed with five ounces of milk, and so on. By the end of a week, your young child should be used to falling asleep with a bottle of plain water- the best defense against Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Cavities caused by Baby Bottle Tooth Decay are first noticeable as white streaks on the front teeth. As the tooth decay worsens, these streaks become holes, or cavities, in your baby's or toddler's teeth. If the cavities are left untreated, the teeth will eventually decay until they are worn down to small black nubs.

Most dentists won't fill baby, or temporary teeth, as they will eventually fall out anyhow to make room for the permanent teeth. However, to avoid the infection and the pain commonly caused by cavities in one or more teeth, a dentist will extract the affected teeth.

Check with your baby or toddler's pediatrician about proper dental hygiene for your son or daughter. He/she can recommend at what age you start taking your son or daughter to a dentist. You can usually begin to gently clean his or her teeth as soon as the first one appears. Use the smallest, softest toothbrush you can find. And, so that your baby or toddler won't swallow the toothpaste, skip it for now.