Bottle Rot

When researching information on brushing baby’s teeth for my last blog, I discovered a disease I had never heard of before called “Bottle Rot” or “Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.” This usually happens when babies are frequently put to bed with a bottle or sippy cup filled with milk or juice. The natural bacteria in a baby’s mouth will feed on the sugars from the milk or juice, then produce a type of acid that attacks the baby’s teeth and leads to decay.

It is also important to not let your baby use his bottle of milk as a pacifier for the very same reason. Having milk, which has a sugar called lactose, drip slowly into a baby’s mouth all day will produce the same result as going to sleep with a baby bottle. Another thing to avoid is dipping your baby’s pacifier in a sugary substance.

Dentists recommend to get your baby in the habit of drinking water from his bottle or sippy cup, or at the very least make sure water is the very last thing he drinks before bedtime. Bottle Rot can lead to very expensive & painful dental work. I will spare you the horrific stories I read online of cracked teeth and root canals, but there was one common thread in all of the stories I read. Every single mother suffered terribly watching their child in pain and would have done anything to avoid that child’s pain.

The best way we can help fight this disease is to spread the word. I don’t know of one single mother who would intentionally give their child this disease. Most mothers wouldn’t dream that letting their beautiful child sleep peacefully with a bottle of wholesome milk could be harmful. Together we can help avoid this disease by educating new & expectant moms on the dangers of bedtime bottle feeding. If it’s one thing us moms know how to do well, it’s give advice, and this is one bit of great advice I’m sure any new mom would appreciate.