Baby Tooth Decay

Baby tooth decay might not be the first thing you think about when your baby is teething.

Many babies resist having a tooth brush shoved into their mouth, and hence it is very easy to make excuses to not have to take the battle. (Trust me!)

However, young children and even infants can develop dental caries or cavities when their teeth start to erupt.

Some people think that breast milk can cause cavities in babies. But, as the article cited above showed, that is not the case.

However, you need to look at the causes and reasons that actually lead to cavities and caries in babies to be able to take the right steps to prevent them.

Baby Tooth Decay Prevention

• Breast milk does not produce cavities
• Bottle feeding and formula milk
• Sweet foods and juices
• Advice for breastfeeding moms
• Preventing caries in children

Breast milk does not produce cavities

However, infants and babies can develop dental health problems due to several reasons, so just because you are breastfeeding it doesn't mean the baby is entirely safe. Supplementing with formula and later on solid foods still puts your baby at risk.

Bottle feeding and formula milk

Formula given to the baby especially at night causes the greatest damage as the baby may fall asleep while drinking milk. Once the baby is asleep, the flow of saliva stops, causing the lactose rich milk to stay in the baby's mouth for a longer period of time. To avoid this to happen, you should make sure that the baby is not fed immediately before sleeping so that the natural saliva production in the mouth after feeding helps clear the milk in the mouth.

Another reason for dental caries in bottle fed milk is the habit of slow nursing in some babies. If babies are allowed to hold their bottle and drink from it slowly, and for a longer period of time, it allows the milk to stay in the mouth for a longer period of time, resulting in nursing caries. This problem is more common in babies who are allowed to bottle feed at an older age.

Sweet foods and juices

If a baby is introduced to very sweet foods such as juices or candies in the diet, it can lead to drastic dental problems. Frequent snacking throughout the day causes the teeth to be exposed to cavity causing bacteria again and again.

Formula milk with lactose (i.e. sugar) also allows bacteria to grow in the mouth. Moreover, yeasts and bacteria may be present on the bottle nipple or pacifiers that are given to bottle feeding babies, which can promote cavity formation.

Therefore it is highly recommended that children over the age of 1 year should not be bottle fed at all and all pacifiers and bottles should be thrown away as soon as your child reaches her first birthday.

However, if you plan to use these bottles to provide your own milk to the baby, by pumping breast milk using a breast pump like Medela Style, "bottle-feeding" should be less of a problem.

Advice for breastfeeding moms

Every noticed how hungry on eis while breastfeeding? Nursing moms often feel the urge to take snacks in between feeding their baby. If this snack is taken at taken at night, and the teeth are not properly cleaned, the food sitting against the teeth can cause cavities in breastfeeding moms. Women prone to dental cavities should be extremely careful about their teeth during breastfeeding.

Preventing caries in children

Some mothers may feel awkward or want to give up breastfeeding their child if they do not see any one around them encouraging them or breastfeeding their child. This of course is a pitty, since breast milk contains so many good things for a baby and there are so many benefits of breastfeeding, both for the baby and mom.

Although cavities can be hereditary in children, you should make sure that your child's dental health is achieved to prevent any cavities from developing. Try reducing the number of especially formula feeds during the night gradually. Sweet snacks or juices should be given during day time and should be completely avoided at night, so that the baby does not sleep with all the sweet in her mouth. After every snack, you should allow the baby to clear the mouth, by giving water or by allowing the baby to swallow extra so that any remaining food particles or milk does not stay in the mouth.

As long as you ensure good dental hygiene, you can prevent your child from developing dental caries at a small age. There are some natural remedies also which you can try to prevent baby tooth decay. Using medicated toothpaste to prevent cavity formation can also be used, only if your child is old enough to use it properly.

Hope this gave you some more insight on baby tooth decay! You'll find a lot more baby care articles in the right column.

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