Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Infants and toddlers suffer from baby bottle tooth decay when bacteria that feed on the sugar from juice and milk stays on their teeth. The tooth rot can result in black or discolored teeth, tooth erosion, or even complete tooth decay. This problem often occurs when babies or toddlers are regularly put to sleep with a bottle of milk or juice. Although it may be impossible to reverse the damage that baby bottle tooth decay has done to a child’s smile until their adult teeth emerge, it is possible to prevent baby bottle tooth decay with regular cleaning and better habits.

Steps

Clean Your Baby’s Teeth

  1. Take your baby to the dentist. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association recommend that a baby get her first visit to the dentist after the first tooth emerges, no later than her first birthday. The dentist will check for signs of tooth decay or other oral problems.[1]
    • Additionally, the dentist can teach you how to better care for your baby's teeth.[1]
    • Try to take your child to the dentist every six months.[1]
  2. Wipe your baby’s gums after feeding. If your infant has no teeth, use a clean, damp cloth to wipe her gums down after a bottle. This process will remove the damaging bacteria and help prevent the sugar from formula or breast milk from getting trapped in between your baby’s lips and gums. Even if your baby does have a few teeth, wiping out her mouth after each feeding can help prevent tooth decay.[2]
  3. Brush your baby’s teeth. If your infant has any emerged teeth, use a child-size toothbrush and kid-friendly toothpaste to clean her mouth twice each day, particularly prior to bedtime. Only use a little bit of toothpaste, about as much as a grain of rice, until she is about 3.[2]
    • Be sure to be gentle with young teeth. Brush both the teeth and gums and then rinse out your baby's mouth. Once a child has reached three, you can use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste.[2]
    • Make sure the toothpaste you use has fluoride, as that will help protect your child's teeth.[2]

Reevaluating Bedtime Routines

  1. Feed only breast milk and formula to babies. For children under one year of age, don't give them anything but formula or breast milk in their bottles. Juice and milk are too sugary, and water can lead to malnutrition.[3]
  2. Give bottles with water only during naps or at bedtime for toddlers.[3] When babies fall asleep with bottles, they often keep the nipple in their mouths, allowing milk or juice to drip into their mouths and pool around the teeth and gums. The sugar in the drinks gives incentive for bacteria to stay on teeth, causing decay.[4] It's best not to give any bottles at naps or bedtime, but if you must, then make sure to only put water in them.
    • The exception to this rule is babies who haven't started eating solid foods yet. Babies who are still solely on breast milk, formula, or a combination of both do not need extra water in their diet. In fact, feeding them extra water can lead to malnutrition or other problems.[5]
    • If your child is ambivalent about the bottle or does not insist on holding the bottle or drinking once she lays down, try brushing teeth before bed and simply skipping the bottle. It also helps to offer milk at dinnertime.[6]
  3. Take the bottle away when your child's asleep. If just giving water doesn't work, you can try removing the bottle once your child falls asleep. That removes the liquid that could cause damage to her teeth.[3]
    • Most doctors prefer that you don't let your child fall asleep with a bottle at all; it can make it harder for your child to be weaned from the bottle.[6] Offer a pacifier instead of a bottle if your baby wants something to suck.
    • Don't forget to gently wipe her mouth out after you remove the bottle.
  4. Do not dip pacifiers in honey or sugar. Coating the nipple of the pacifier with any type of sugary substance (including juice and milk, which contain natural sugars) can trap sugar in the front of your child’s mouth. This practice allows bacteria to gather and can cause tooth decay.[3]

Making Other Changes

  1. Limit juice intake. If you want to give your child juice, limit her to six ounces a day. It's best to let her drink it during meals so it doesn't sit on her teeth. If you want to extend the amount because your child refuses plain water at meals, try mixing the juice with water.[3]
    • Offer juice only in a cup, not a bottle.
  2. Limit sugar intake in general. Every kid loves sweet things, but you should try to limit how much sugary foods your child eats, from candy to soda. Encourage her to eat fruits and vegetables instead.[2]
  3. Give your child water between meals. If your child needs a drink between meals, fill her bottle or sippy cup with water. That way, she's not constantly sipping on sugar, which can lead to tooth decay.[7]
  4. Wean your child off a bottle. At about six months, show your child how to use a sippy cup. At about a year, it's time to wean your child off the bottle. Bottles encourage drinking over time, leaving the liquid on your child's teeth. Sippy cups help limit this effect.[3]
    • If she cries persistently without the bottle, try feeding your child the milk yourself, cleaning her teeth, and putting her down with just water. Or, you can try giving your baby a pacifier instead.
    • In some cases, children lose interest in sleeping with a bottle if it is filled with water, in which case you can stop providing one at all.

Tips

  • Water and milk are the best choices of drinks when your child is over 1 years old.[8]

Warnings

  • Do not regularly substitute water for breast milk or formula for infants younger than 6 months of age due to a risk of malnutrition and other problems including problems with her electrolytes in her blood. This could lead to low body temperature or even seizures if a large amount of water is given. Filling up on water reduces an infant’s hunger for milk and can cause her to consume too few calories. If your baby is younger than six months and prefers sleeping with a bottle, try putting nothing in it, removing it as soon as she falls asleep, or substituting a pacifier.[5]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/dental-exam-for-children/basics/why-its-done/prc-20013782
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/baby-bottle-tooth-decay
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002061.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cavities/basics/risk-factors/con-20030076
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-your-baby/giving-water-to-baby.aspx
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_center/newborn_care/no_bottles.html#
  7. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cavities/basics/risk-factors/con-20030076
  8. ↑ http://kidshealth.org/parent/homework/school_food/drink_healthy.html
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