What Is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

If you’re a new parent and you’re looking into how to protect your child’s oral health, you may have heard of “baby bottle tooth decay.” But what is this dental health condition? How does it happen, and how can you prevent it? In this blog from Sycamore Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, our Tinton Falls pediatric dentists explain everything you need to know to keep your baby’s teeth healthy.

Understanding The Basics Of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay‍

As the name suggests, baby bottle tooth decay is a severe type of tooth decay that’s primarily caused by parents putting their child to bed with a bottle full of formula, breastmilk, or any other sweetened liquid, such as juice or sugar water. It mostly affects the upper and lower front teeth.

Tooth decay happens when the bacteria inside your child’s mouth feed on sugar. After they feed and digest the sugar, these bacteria excrete acid. This acid attacks your child’s teeth and can cause them to weaken and eventually decay.

Normally, saliva helps wash away acid, and cleaning your child’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste helps eliminate sugar particles, bacteria, and acid. But when you put your child to bed with a bottle full of sugar-rich liquid, they may fall asleep when they feed, and some of the liquid may remain on their teeth.

Over time, this frequent exposure to high levels of sugar feeds bacteria in your child’s mouth, causing high levels of acid that can attack and break down their teeth, causing tooth decay. Signs of baby bottle tooth decay include tooth discoloration, white patches, and spots on the teeth, or sensitivity in the teeth and gums.
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How Can I Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?‍

The simplest solution is to never put your child to bed with a bottle and to start weaning them from their bottle as soon as they turn 12 months old. If your child really needs a bottle to soothe themselves as they sleep, make sure it contains only water.

There are also some other steps you can take to fight back against tooth decay in infants and toddlers, such as:

• Brush their teeth twice per day with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste – Fluoride toothpaste helps rebuild your child’s enamel, and regular brushing helps remove the bacteria, food particles, and acid that contribute to tooth decay.
  
  
• Avoid most sugary drinks – For the most part, infants and toddlers should drink breastmilk, formula, milk, or water. Other sugary drinks like juice should be avoided. And, as mentioned, never put your child to bed with a bottle full of any drink that contains sugar.
  
  
• Choose tap water – Tap water usually contains a small amount of fluoride, which helps protect your child’s developing teeth from decay. Most bottled water doesn't contain any fluoride, so tap water is typically a better choice for protecting your child’s teeth.

• Start seeing the dentist early on – Regular preventive dental visits help keep your child’s teeth clean, healthy, and free of tooth decay. So don’t wait. Start bringing your child to see Dr. Jocelyn or Dr. Kearns when they turn one year old, or 6 months after their first tooth erupts, whichever comes first!

Protect Your Little One’s Teeth – Come To Sycamore Smiles Pediatric Dentistry!‍

At Sycamore Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we’re dedicated to serving little smiles. Dr. Kearns and Dr. Jocelyn help parents in Tinton Falls take control of their child’s oral health, and prepare them for a lifetime of happy, healthy smiles. So don’t wait. Contact us online or give us a call at (732) 963-8680 to schedule a consultation today.