Baby bottle tooth decay

You will be surprised at the number of infants and babies that have extensive tooth decay. You might wonder what could be the reason, as you as a parent curb the amount of sweets they consume and their oral hygiene. The main culprit is the milk and other liquids, such as sweetened water and fruit juice that your baby sucks on the whole day and sometimes at night too.{{more}}

The main enemy for your baby’s teeth

When, you consider the main enemy for your baby’s teeth, they are certainly the bacteria. A baby’s mouth is similar to an adult’s in that way. The bacteria in the mouth feed on the sugars that are to be found in the mouth. This is from the liquids that your baby had. These bacteria go on to produce acid and this acid in turn feeds on the tooth enamel and dentine. If this is not arrested, then very soon your baby would have developed cavities in their teeth.

There are several children who are tucked into bed along with a bottle to help them sleep. Although this might seem comforting to your baby, the baby falls asleep with the liquid and the bottle still in the mouth. The liquid from the bottle collects and swims around the teeth the entire time that your baby is asleep.

The more bacteria that are present in your baby’s mouth might even lead to gingivitis, which is a harmful gum disease. This is of course more serious and will cause bad breath and bone structure destruction in your baby. This kind of thing could lead to permanently damaging your baby’s teeth.

How to prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Firstly, do not put your baby to bed with a bottle in his/her mouth. In fact, after every time that your baby has a bottle of feed, take a clean wet cloth and rinse your baby’s mouth along the gums and teeth. This will enable the bacteria to be removed and hence no bacteria accumulation and sugar remaining in the mouth.

In case your baby does not seem to fall asleep without the bottle, then fill the bottle with water and give the baby. Do not even think of giving your baby milk and fruit juices such as apple and Dr Keith John

email:drkeithjohn@gmail.com

Clinic: SVG Dental Corporation

Telephone: 784-456-2220

Cell: 784-526-0752