Parenting Magazine - Contributor

Invest now or Invest later in your child's teeth.

My toddler falls right to sleep if I put her to bed with a bottle. Bottles also help when she is fussy. My sister says I am making a mistake, but all I know is it works. What should I do?

What works today may be very costly for you later. By putting your baby to bed with a bottle, you are encouraging tooth decay. Baby-bottle tooth decay can occur when an infant or a toddler is given a bottle filled with milk, formula, fruit juice or sugared liquids at bedtime, naptime, or for long periods of time during the day. Excessive exposure to the sugar in these liquids can cause teeth to discolor and decay. Since breast milk also contains sugar, decay also can occur when a baby falls asleep while breast-feeding. Baby-bottle tooth decay most often occurs in the upper front teeth, but other teeth can also be affected.

Bacteria in the mouth use the sugars in the liquids as food. These bacteria produce acids which attack healthy teeth. Each time a child drinks these liquids, acids attack the teeth for 20 minutes or even longer. After many attacks, the tooth surface weakens and decay begins.

It is not just what you put in your child's bottle that causes tooth decay, but also how often and for how long a period of time. Giving your child a bottle of sweetened liquids many times a day is not a good idea. Allowing your child to fall asleep with a bottle during naps or at night can also harm the child's teeth.

Your child's baby teeth are important! Children need strong healthy teeth to chew their food, speak and have a good looking smile. Baby teeth also keep a space in the jaw for the adult teeth. Early loss of a baby tooth can make adult teeth crooked or crowded.

Sometimes parents do not realize that a baby tooth can decay soon after it appears in the mouth. Often, by the time decay is noticed, it may be too late to save the tooth. Baby-bottle tooth decay most often occurs in the upper front teeth, but other teeth can be affected. Here are five important steps to follow to help prevent your child from getting Baby-bottle tooth decay or other serious dental problems:

• Clean your baby's mouth even before the teeth appear. After every feeding, wipe the baby's gums with a damp clean washcloth or gauze pad to remove plaque. This also establishes at an early age the feeling for the baby of having the mouth cleaned.

• Never allow your child to nurse or breast-feed for prolonged periods of time, and don't give the child a bottle with milk, formula, fruit juice or sugared liquids during naps or at bedtime. If a bottle must be used when putting your child to bed, use only water in the bottle.

• Never give your child a pacifier dipped in any sweet liquid. Always give a clean pacifier recommended by your dentist or physician.

• If your local water supply does not contain fluoride (a substance that helps prevent tooth decay), ask your dentist how your child should get it.

• Start dental visits early. It is recommended that a child's first visit to the dentist should be by age 3. Make visits regularly, hopefully before emergency treatment is needed. However, if you think your child has a dental problem, take the child to the dentist as soon as possible.

Remember, A HEALTHY SMILE SHOULD LAST A LIFETIME!

Reprint from the "South Florida Parenting Magazine" February 1996