What causes baby bottle tooth decay?
Decay occurs when sweetened liquids are given and are left clinging to an infant’s teeth for long periods. Many sweet liquids cause problems, including milk, formula and fruit juice. Bacteria in the mouth use these sugars as food. They then produce acids that attack the teeth. Each time your child drinks these liquids, acids attack for 20 minutes or longer. After many attacks, the teeth can decay. It’s not just what you put in your child’s bottle that causes decay, but how often — and for how long a time. Giving your child a bottle of sweetened liquid many times a day isn’t a good idea. Allowing your child to fall asleep with a bottle during naps or at night can also harm the child’s teeth.
Baby bottle tooth decay is caused by the frequent exposure of a child’s teeth for long periods of time to liquids containing sugars. Among these liquids are milk, formula, fruit juice and other sweetened liquids. The sugars in these liquids are used as an energy source by the bacteria in plaque, the thin, almost invisible film of bacteria and byproducts that constantly forms on the teeth. In the process, the bacteria produce acids that attack tooth enamel. Each time your child drinks a liquid containing sugars, acids attack the child’s teeth for at least 20 minutes. After many such attacks, dental caries (tooth decay) can occur.
When milk, juice, formula and even breastmilk pool around your baby’s teeth, the sugars these drinks contain combine with bacteria and create acid that attacks the teeth. Over time, this acid dissolves the tooth enamel and causes cavities, decay, severe pain and even gum disease. Baby teeth are very important to your child’s health and growth–too important to lose and more important than whatever need (baby’s or yours) that sleepytime bottle satisfies. How Can I Tell If My Baby Has Baby Bottle Tooth Decay? Check your baby’s teeth frequently for any chalky white spots, white streaks, dark blotches, or lines. The teeth most affected by this disease are toward the front, but since you should check for other types of decay as well, inspect all your baby’s teeth. Most doctors examine a baby’s teeth at each well-baby checkup–important because sometimes the decay first shows up on the backside of the front teeth, which can’t be seen without a dental mirror.
