How to Avoid Bottle Decay
Taking care of all aspects of your baby's health is critical for good health, but it can be easy to forget about their teeth. The experienced team of pediatric dentists at My Kidz Dentist treat children of all ages in Phoenix, Arizona.
Even though baby teeth are temporary, keeping them clean and healthy is still essential, which is why you should know how to avoid bottle decay.
What is bottle decay?
Bottle decay is a form of tooth decay that occurs in young infants and babies as their teeth begin erupting through the gumline. Commonly affecting the front upper teeth, bottle decay can affect any of your baby's teeth if you are not careful.
There are several causes of bottle decay, the most common being a caregiver sharing their saliva with the baby by sharing feeding spoons or sticking a pacifier that fell on the floor in their mouth to “clean” it before giving it back to the baby. This passes the tooth-eating bacteria into the baby's mouth and begins to cause cavities in the teeth.
Bottle decay can also be caused by giving a baby sugary drinks, allowing them to have a bottle as they sleep, and using a bottle as a substitute for a pacifier.
How to prevent bottle decay
Although bottle decay can cause issues for your baby's health, it is luckily relatively easy to prevent if you are proactive. Even if you cannot implement all these, just doing a few of them can significantly reduce the chance of your baby developing bottle decay.
- Use only formula, water, or milk in bottles. You should avoid juices and other sugary drinks as these have a higher chance of rotting your child's teeth.
- Don't send your child to bed with a bottle. Instead, have them finish their drink before they sleep.
- Once your child's teeth have begun to pop through, you should gently brush them daily. Use only the tiniest smear (think the size of a grain of rice) of fluoride toothpaste, and make sure to use a child's brush to be gentle on their teeth.
- Don't use your mouth to clean pacifiers or feeding spoons as this spreads tooth-eating bacteria and increases your baby's risk of developing bottle decay.
Schedule your baby’s first dental visit
Once your baby's teeth begin to erupt, you should start planning their first dental visit at My Kidz Dentist. Though this can be stressful, starting your child's dental health early on is essential as their first teeth can help ensure their adult teeth come in correctly. Starting infants off with good oral care helps protect their teeth for the future.
If your child has begun to teeth, and you have not yet scheduled a dentist visit, call one of the three practice locations in Phoenix, or use our convenient online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.