Dental Health Week and Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Dental Health Week is on from 6^th to 12^th August, so our team thought this was the perfect time to talk about a very common problem amongst children, baby bottle tooth decay. The good news is that while this is a pretty serious issue, it is easily preventable.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Apart from water, most drinks children consume contain sugar, be it milk, formula or juice. When drunk from a cup, the liquid quickly moves past the teeth and doesn’t have a chance to do much harm. However, when drunk from a baby bottle, sugar lingers in children’s mouths and is then turned into acid by bacteria, which slowly eats away at the enamel on their teeth.

Upper front teeth are the most often affected by baby bottle tooth decay and in severe cases, destroyed teeth can make chewing and speaking especially difficult. Studies have also shown that children who lose their baby teeth early have higher chances of developing issues with their permanent teeth.

This is why we encourage parents to continue the work we do at our centres at home. You should teach your child to drink from a cup as soon as possible, and by the time they are 14 months old, they should not be using bottles at all. As appropriate stepping stones we recommend sippy cups.

We know bedtime can be challenging and a lot of children rely on bottles as a soothing tool. We highly recommend against this, especially if you are giving your child juice, which is very high in sugar content. If your child still requires a bottle at bedtime, we recommend giving them nothing but water in it.

Special Visit from Local Dentist

As part of baby bottle tooth decay prevention, oral hygiene is also necessary. As part of our Dental Health Week celebrations, we will be welcoming a local Dentist and Oral Hygienist at The Strawberry Bush, our childcare centre in Helensvale. She will be talking to the children about the importance of taking care of their teeth, and she will also be addressing parents’ concerns and answering questions.

Parents and families are welcome to attend our centre on Wednesday, 8^th August, at 11:00 AM.

For more information, enrolments and to book a centre tour, contact us today.