As a parent, you probably know that your babies baby teeth are important. You may think that they are not as important as their soon-to-be grown up teeth and this is not the case. If you don’t take care of your child’s baby teeth, they could develop poor eating habits, have speech problems, and crooked teeth which could lead to damaged adult teeth. This is why baby teeth are just as important to take care of. Which brings us to our topic of the day, bottle rot.
Have you ever heard of bottle rot? I didn’t until I started working for a dental office so if you haven’t, don’t feel bad.
The definition of bottle rot comes from mykoolsmiles.com:
“Bottle rot is tooth decay of your baby’s first teeth. It happens when sugary drinks like juice, milk, or formula cling to your baby’s teeth for a long time. A bottle may help him or her to fall asleep, but inside the mouth, bacteria are feeding on the juice, producing the acids that cause tooth decay.”
If you have ever left your baby with a bottle full of sugary substances with them during naps or bedtime, then your child could be at risk of developing tooth decay and actually losing some teeth. Bottle rot is not a topic that a lot of parents don’t know about which is why it’s so important to talk about it and create awareness.
If you haven’t seen how severe bottle rot can be, here are some pictures from dentagama.com.
Other bad things can happen if your child has tooth decay at a young age. Their gums can become infected which could mean that they will develop gum disease at an early age which is incredibly painful and affects them for the rest of their lives.
Now that you know what it is, you are probably wondering how to avoid it. Here are 7 tips from mykoolsniles.com:
- Give babies only water in a bottle during a nap and bedtime.
- Limit the amount of juice and other sugary drinks during the day.
- Wipe your baby’s gums with a clean, damp baby washcloth after mealtimes.
- Never dip a pacifier in sugar, honey, or other sweeteners.
- If your water is not fluoridated, ask your child’s dentist or doctor if you should use a fluoride supplement.
- Avoid cleaning a baby’s pacifier with your mouth, sharing chewed food or using the same spoon.
- Schedule your baby’s first dental check-up by the time the first tooth comes in.
I hope that some of the following tips help you so that you can practice safe habits and save your child’s baby teeth. It is important to develop healthy oral habits early in your kid’s lives and set the standard for oral health. If you don’t, they could develop problems that may affect them for the rest of their lives.
Make sure to continue proper oral health care throughout the development process even when they are almost the age to start losing teeth and getting their adult teeth. Some parents may think that it’s okay to slack off a little bit when adult teeth start pushing baby teeth out, but the truth is that it’s even more crucial to floss and brush because exposed gums are at a higher risk for gum disease.
If you have a child who has a hard time with oral care or hates going to the dentist, hopefully, this post can give you some help.
Did you learn something new today? Let us know in the comments.