You’ve probably noticed how concerned dentists are about childhood cavities. While Dr. Shah and her team strive to educate children about how to care for their oral hygiene, very young children depend on their caretakers to keep their teeth clean. Therefore, it is important for parents of babies to know about a pattern we call Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.
Tooth decay increases with the amount of time teeth are exposed to sugar. While baby formula and milk are not as high in sugar content as juice, for example, they contain enough to cause a problem if they remain stuck to babies’ teeth for hours. Too often, this is the case, because babies are given bottles to suck from throughout the day, keeping their teeth coated and causing decay to set in on the fronts of the incisors.
There are several important steps parents can take to combat Baby Bottle Tooth Decay: limit the amount of time babies have bottles for, and supply them with water to wash their teeth. Start brushing their teeth as soon as the first one begins to emerge, and teach them to drink from cups as soon as possible (usually around their first birthday). And, of course, hold off on juice and anything else with lots of sugar until then.
Dr. Dipika Shah, Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, operates at 723 N Beers St, Suite 2F, Holmdel, New Jersey, 07733-1512. To schedule an appointment, call 732-264-8180 or visit DentistNJ.com and fill out a contact form.
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