Don’t let the name deceive you: Baby bottle syndrome isn’t only caused by bottles. It’s caused by anything you give your baby or toddler to hold overnight that contains a sweetened liquid.
And sweetened liquids aren’t only of the obvious soda-and-fruit juice variety. They’re also liquids containing natural sugars, such as milk and formula.
Basically, because children don’t have as mature of a swallowing mechanism as adults, anything you give them after brushing their teeth ““ whether it’s in a bottle, sippy cup or regular cup ““ is going to sit in their mouths, usually concentrating around the upper front six teeth, overnight.
That concentration of sugars in the mouth causes a bacteria build-up, which attack the teeth and cause decay. Infected or severely decayed baby teeth that need to be removed can lead to poor eating habits, speech problems, and crooked or damaged adult teeth.
The good news is you can take a few simple steps to prevent baby bottle syndrome from occurring. Dr. David Ison, an independent dental practitioner who works out of St. Elizabeth’s Florence location, shares three ways to keep baby bottle syndrome at bay:
- Begin brushing your child’s teeth as soon as the first tooth appears.
- Start taking your child to the dentist as soon as the first tooth appears.
- Give your child nothing but city water (meaning water out of the tap that contains fluoride) after brushing and before bedtime.
By the time you start noticing problems with your child’s teeth, it’s usually too late, so practice prevention by starting good dental hygiene early and by withholding anything sweetened from your child after you brush his or her tiny teeth.
