What is "baby bottle cavities"?

Every year thousands of infants and young children suffer from extensive tooth decay from being put down to sleep with a bottle of milk, juice, breast milk, or any other liquid that contains sugar or sweeteners.

This can cause tooth pain to the helpless baby and may even result in complete breakdown of the teeth, resulting in extractions. In my practice I see children with teeth that have only been in the mouth a few years with cavities so large that they have consumed the entire tooth.

Parents often use a bottle to help the children go to sleep because they find that it settles the baby down. But the child very often falls asleep with the bottle in their mouth, causing the liquid in the bottle to pool around the baby teeth. Bacteria living in our mouths feed on sugars in the liquid and produce acid as a by-product. This acid destroys the teeth.

During sleep the amount of saliva decreases, further compounding the problem, because saliva is natures neutralizing agent for acids made from the bacteria. And baby teeth are more susceptible to cavities than adult teeth are!

Additionally, the constant supply of sugars in the mouth can lead to a predominant population of the harmful type of bacteria, causing a greater susceptibility to cavities in general for the baby.

If you are currently putting your baby down with a bottle of milk, juice, or other damaging liquid, you might consider slowly (over three weeks or so) diluting the liquid with water, and in three weeks go to ONLY water.

Baby bottle cavities cause great pain and suffering to a young baby, and there is absolutely nothing THEY can do about it. Do your baby a big favor. Only YOU can prevent baby bottle decay.

How can you prevent baby bottle tooth decay?
You can prevent baby bottle tooth decay by wiping the child's teeth and gums with a moist washcloth after each feeding to remove plaque and you should never let your child go to sleep with a bottle containing a sweetened liquid. ALSO -constant use of a sipping cup containing sweetened liquids can also cause baby bottle tooth decay.

What problems occur from baby bottle tooth decay?

To repair the decay, extensive treatment or extraction of the teeth may be required. Because the children are so young, hospitalization with general anesthesia is often required to perform these procedures.

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