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Home › Articles › Toddlers › A Hard Habit to Break

A Hard Habit to Break

Part One

Bring on the Cup

By April E. Clark

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Your child's baby teeth are important. Children need strong, healthy teeth to chew their food, speak and have a good-looking smile. Baby teeth also keep a space in the jaw for the adult teeth. If a baby tooth is lost too early, the teeth beside it may drift into the empty space. When it's time for the adult teeth to come in, there may not be enough room. This can make the teeth crooked or crowded.

How can baby bottle tooth decay be prevented?
Sometimes parents do not realize that a baby's teeth can decay soon after they appear in the mouth. By the time decay is noticed, it may be too late to save the teeth. You can help prevent this from happening to your child by following these tips:

1. After each feeding, wipe the baby's gums with a clean gauze pad. Begin brushing teeth when the first tooth erupts. Clean and massage gums in areas that remain toothless, and begin flossing when all the baby teeth have erupted, usually by age 2 or 2 1/2.

2. Never allow a child to fall asleep with a bottle containing milk, formula, fruit juice or sweetened liquids.

3. If a child needs a comforter between regular feedings, at night or during naps, give the child a clean pacifier recommended by a dentist or physician. Never give a child a pacifier dipped in any sweet liquid.

4. Avoid filling a child's bottle with liquids such as sugar water and soft drinks.

5. If your local water supply does not contain fluoride (a substance that helps prevent tooth decay), ask a dentist how a child should get it.

6. Start dental visits by the child's first birthday. Make visits regularly. If you think your child has dental problems, take the child to the dentist as soon as possible.

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