Your precious bundle of joy will soon be teething! The moment your baby has teeth is the moment they are susceptible to decay. It is recommended by the Canadian Dental Association that children have their teeth examined by the age of 1. One of the concerns dentists look for in young children is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

What is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

When your baby sleeps with a bottle of liquids in the mouth, her teeth and gums are exposed to sugars for a long time. Among these liquids are milk, formula, fruit juice, sodas, and other sweetened drinks. Baby bottle decay is also associated with breastfed infants who have prolonged feeding habits. Sugars from these sweet drinks remain around your child’s teeth, gums, and on the tongue. Bacteria in your baby’s mouth thrive on the sugars and release plaque-causing acids. Lack of proper oral hygiene can then lead to caries or decay called Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Baby bottle tooth decay is the term that describes tooth decay in infants and young children. The condition is also known as infant caries, bottle mouth, or early childhood caries (ECC).

Causes of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

The primary cause of this decay is when the child goes to bed with a bottle or sippy cup of sugary drinks or prolonged breast milk feeding. The sugary liquids and foods stick to the teeth throughout the day.

Tooth decay can even develop if you or other caretakers share spoon or bottles with the child. If you or the caretaker has tooth decay, the bacteria are contracted though saliva as the medium when they share spoons, cups, or taste foods before they are fed. When you put the baby’s feeding spoon in your mouth, or clean a pacifier in your mouth, the bacteria can be passed to the baby.

If your little one does not receive an adequate amount of fluoride, they may also have an increased risk for tooth decay.

Where Does This Decay Form?

Baby bottle tooth decay most often occurs in the upper front teeth or incisors, but other teeth may also be affected due to the causes mentioned above.

What Are the Signs of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

The most obvious sign of baby bottle tooth decay is blackish-brown spots or hollow spots on your child’s teeth. However, before your child’s oral situation reaches this point, here are some signs to watch for:

  • White spots at the gum line on the upper front teeth (it is often difficult to identify these white spots on the teeth so take your child to a dentist to examine condition)
  • Visible plaque build-up or biofilm around the gums. This film can be yellow to transparent in color and gives a sticky finish to the surface of your baby’s teeth.
  • Yellow or brown spots on the teeth. These can be the starting points of decays and caries.
  • Tooth pain or gum pain that doesn’t appear to be due to eruption or teething. Your child may persistently cry if she’s too young or may try to communicate if she’s able to.

How to Prevent This Issue?

If you notice any of these signs of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay, take your child to your dentist to have their teeth checked. The dentist will examine your child’s mouth closely, and suggest the right preventive measures to treat and prevent decay.

Other things that you can do to prevent baby bottle tooth decay include:

  • Stop putting your baby to sleep with a bottle, sippy cup, or breast in her mouth.
  • Begin brushing your child’s teeth, without toothpaste, when her first tooth comes in. If you choose to use toothpaste, use a fluoride-free one.
  • Never give your child a pacifier dipped in anything sweet to chew for the night.
  • Break the habit of drinking from a bottle or sippy cup, especially sugary drinks, as soon as possible.

If your baby is too young and you still want to allow her to have a bottle before bed to help soothe her to sleep, you can continue doing it. But after every bottle session, clean your child’s mouth. Take a soft, wet washcloth and gently massage her teeth and gums after she finishes the bottle. You can even give her a bottle of water to drink after to help rinse the teeth.

If baby bottle tooth decay is left untreated, it can result in pain and infection. Severely decayed teeth may need to be removed. If teeth are infected or lost too early due to baby bottle decay, your child may develop poor eating habits, speech problems, crooked teeth, and damaged adult teeth.

Your child is precious and their oral health is important. Maintaining proper use of baby bottles and sippy cups along with regular visits to your dentist is necessary for their health.

Posted in Pediatric Dentistry