What I read was actually very interesting, and something that I think all moms should know about!
Since reading that pamphlet I've learned lots more in school... I found a good article that breaks it down well... And if you don't have time to read it, I'll summarize it for you below!
Basically Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (Commonly referred to in dentistry as Early Childhood Caries--which is what I will use) AKA nursing bottle caries, nursing caries, bottle caries, infant caries, early childhood caries, etc… is caries resulting from improper feeding habits in babies and toddlers!
This is what it looks like in different stages: First you will see white spots along the gumline. *If you see these, get to the dentist because it may be reversible with a remineralization treatment! Then as you can see it advances...
The primary teeth involved in ECC (Early Childhood Caries) are the top teeth (because when liquid pools the bottom teeth are usually covered by the tongue.
Eventually, the result would be this...
Essentially, there are 4 things required for cavities to form:
1. TEETH
2. BACTERIA (check out the S. Mutans post below)
3. FOOD for the bacteria (fermentable carbs)
4. TIME!
With ECC (which can also occur with nursing & sippy cups), the liquid p
rovides the FOOD for the bacteria.
There are a couple of ways that caries result from inappropriate feeding--
1. The baby is allowed to go to bed with a bottle. --This allows the milk, formula, juice, etc to pool in the mouth (sometimes for hours) allowing the bacteria a constant food source (hence a constant acid attack on the teeth)
2. The child is allowed to sip freely all day on a juice or other sugary substrate allowing frequent acid attacks
.--This principle is KEY to avoiding cavities... EVERY TIME A CARBOHYDRATE IS CONSUMED, ACID (that cause cavities) IS PRODUCED BY BACTERIA. THESE "ACID ATTACKS" (as we'll refer to them) CAN LAST ANYWHERE FROM 20-40 MINUTES DEPENDING ON THE FOOD.
SO, the more frequently a child eats or drinks fermentable carbohydrates, the more frequently an "acid attack" is initiated on their teeth! (ie If a baby drinks apple juice from a sippy cup from 9:00am to 9:10am there will be only one, shorter "acid attack" if you will... Whereas a baby that takes a sip at 9:00 and then a sip at 9:15 and then a sip at 9:40 and finishes at 10:00 will produce 4 separate, (but equally as long) attacks on their teeth.
HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES FROM THE ARTICLE REGARDING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES:
- infants should not be put to sleep with a bottle containing a liquid other than water
- infants should be encouraged to drink from a cup prior to their first birthday
- infants should be weaned from the bottle at 12-14 months of age
- juices should only be offered from a cup, and should be consumed at one sitting
- oral hygiene should be started with eruption of the first primary tooth
I hope this helps someone understand the principles of cavities so that you will be able to better help prevent caries in your own little loves!
Stay tuned for the normal pattern of tooth eruption dates!!
Time Spent So far 5.5 hours
1 comment:
Is it possible to prevent that if I let the baby drink water every time I bottle feed? I wouldn't want those pictures to become reality, even though they're still milk teeth.
Wilton Winrow
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