Do you give your baby a night-time bottle? – Beware of tooth decay!

[28 July 2010 - 14h27]

Milk teeth too can be affected by nasty tooth decay. The damage this causes, often extensive in small children, is in fact also known as “baby bottle tooth decay”. And with good reason … because it occurs “when the child keeps a bottle full of some sweet drink in his mouth for a long time during the day and/or night, states Dr Christophe Lequart, a dental surgeon and spokesman for the French Dental Health Union.

The bacteria present in the mouth need sugar in order to synthesise acids. These in turn attack the tooth enamel. And when a baby bottle remains in contact with the teeth for a long period of time, the baby teeth are soaked in an acid bath, maybe all night … There is not enough time for the saliva to neutralise the bacteria. This is especially true when parents have the ‘bright’ idea of filling their baby’s bottle with fruit juice or, worse still, fizzy drink! The front teeth, ie the incisors and canines, are the teeth most affected. And “some children already suffer from decay in all their teeth by the age of 3!”, points out Dr Lequart. The problem is just the same when baby bottles are filled with milk (because lactose is a sugar) or with a dummy soaked in something sweet…

The best way of prevent early tooth decay is never to give your baby a bottle in the evening after his teeth have been cleaned. If your baby is thirsty, just give him water! The same applies to homeopathic medicines as the vehicle for such medicines is sugar pills. Come what may, it is essential to ensure that the dental pulp is not affected. Without adequate care, an abscess can form and this can lead to the death of the nerve. In the worst case scenario, the adult teeth too can be affected even though they have not yet emerged …

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