Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Prevention in Columbus OH

Your child’s health and self-esteem can be negatively affected by losing primary teeth. These teeth are also important as they hold space for your child’s adult teeth to emerge later on in life. Healthy baby teeth lead to healthy adult teeth. If baby teeth are lost too early, it can cause numerous oral health issues down the road for your child. To ensure this doesn’t happen, it is important to understand what baby bottle tooth decay is and how to properly prevent it.

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What is Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

Tooth decay in very young children and infants is called baby bottle tooth decay. It typically impacts children who fall asleep drinking sweetened liquids for extended periods of time. Falling asleep while drinking sweetened liquids is particularly harmful because saliva flow is decreased during sleep. The natural sugars in these liquids stick to an infant’s teeth and allows for bacteria to grow and thrive off it. As a result of this thriving bacterium, the infant can experience tooth decay. Baby bottle tooth decay typically affects the upper front teeth, but other teeth can also be impacted by it.

How Can I Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

Baby bottle tooth decay is easily preventable under the right circumstances. There are numerous healthy practices you and your child can follow such as mixing juice with water and avoiding soft drinks entirely. If possible, try and reduce the amount of sugar in your child’s diet. In addition to regular dental visits, here are just a few things that you can do to help prevent your child from having baby bottle tooth decay:

• Avoid the prolonged exposure of liquids such as juice, breast milk, formula, and sweetened water.
• Wipe your child’s gums with a clean cloth after each feeding.
• Do not dip your child’s pacifier in sugar or honey.
• Brush your child’s teeth very gently after each feeding.
• Encourage proper flossing and brushing techniques in your child as they grow older.
• Have your child drink fluoridated tap water regularly in order to strength tooth enamel.

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We would like to welcome you and your child to the Hines Little Smiles family! You can request an appointment with us today! We accept patients from Reynoldsburg, Westerville, Columbus, Gahanna, New Albany, Blacklick, and all the other surrounding areas in Ohio.

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