What Is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

Baby bottle tooth decay is a common health concern that must be treated with the proper level of attention. If not, parents may find their children suffering from severe tooth decay, uncertain of how to help. Center Grove Family Dentistry with Dr. Kristin Stevens can provide the family dentistry in Greenwood, IN, you need to manage this upsetting problem.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Can Be Very Damaging

Baby bottle tooth decay affects very young children still feeding on their bottles. It causes a surprising array of damage to a child's teeth beyond what normal decay would cause. Often, it occurs even when parents provide in-depth and hands-on care for their children. It may lead to excess pain, gum disease, and even tooth loss.

What can family dentistry in Greenwood, IN, do to help in this situation? They can teach parents about the causes of this problem and make it easier to avoid it. Importantly, they can also provide care for a child, including cleaning and repair. This type of pediatric dentistry is tricky and requires the help of an expert who fully understands dental care.

Causes Of This Condition

Baby bottle tooth decay is primarily caused by improper bottle management when feeding a baby. When you give your baby a bottle for a nap or bed, they may fall asleep with the bottle in their mouth. You've probably seen your little one more than once in this position. While it is pretty cute, it is also a problem because your child's teeth are exposed to a lot of sugar in the milk you give them.

This sugar attracts bacteria that flock to the child's teeth. Here, it begins to feed on the sugar, turning it into an acid that removes the enamel on your child's teeth. This process is slow but will frequently occur whenever your child's left with a bottle for long periods. Try to remove the bottle when they fall asleep or before they fall asleep to minimize the risk of this problematic action.

Parents may also cause this decay by sharing food with their older babies. For example, a mother who takes a bite of baby food before giving some to the child with the same spoon spreads bacteria into the baby's mouth. They may also spread bacteria by improperly cleaning a pacifier.

Where to Get Help

If your child is experiencing baby bottle tooth decay, please reach out to us at Center Grove Family Dentistry right away. Call Dr. Stevens at (317) 548-2627 to set up a family dentistry session in Greenwood, IN. Doing so will make it easier to take care of your child's oral health needs.

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