What is baby bottle tooth decay? How do I prevent it from happening?
It refers to tooth decay in babies. Babies are vulnerable to tooth decay, as soon as their first teeth appear around six months of age. Many sweet liquids cause these problems, including milk, formula and fruit juice. Each time your baby drinks these liquids, bacteria in the mouth uses these sugars to produce acids that attack teeth. Acid attack lasts longer than twenty minutes. If your baby has nine feedings a day, at least three hours of acid production will result from her bacteria. Repeated attacks develop a cavity or a hole in the enamel, the tooths outer layer. You can help prevent this from happening by never allowing your baby to fall asleep with a bottle containing sweet liquids. Also, wipe your babys gums with clean moist gauze, starting at birth, after every feeding and before bed or nap time.
