Baby Bottle Tooth Decay
Baby bottle syndrome, also called baby bottle tooth decay, is a serious condition that can destroy your child's teeth. It occurs when teeth are exposed, frequently and at length, to liquids that contain sugar. The liquid pools around the teeth and gums, providing food for the bacteria in plaque. The bacteria produce acid as a byproduct when they consume the sugar. This acid attacks your child's teeth and causes decay.
Your child's teeth are vulnerable to decay from the moment they break
through the gums. You may not even notice the decay until it's too late
to save the teeth, so it's crucial that you prevent bottle syndrome from
occurring in the first place.
Clean teeth and gums with a clean, damp washcloth or a very soft infant
toothbrush after each feeding.
Place only water in the bottle, or switch to a pacifier. Come in
for a dental visit around age 1.
Find out if your local water supply contains fluoride. If it
doesn't, we can give you a prescription for fluoride supplements.
Bottle syndrome can lead to toothaches, which are painful and make it
difficult for your child to eat. Left untreated, the decay caused by
bottle syndrome can cause infection, which we may result in us having to
remove teeth. If baby teeth are lost too early, your child could suffer
from poor nutrition, speech problems, crooked teeth, and permanent
damage to adult teeth.
All liquids that contain sugar can cause bottle syndrome. This includes
breast and cow's milk (which contain the sugar lactose), formula, fruit
juice (which contains the sugar fructose), as well as soda and other
sweetened drinks.
Because primary teeth, also called baby teeth, are eventually replaced
by permanent teeth, many people don't realize that they are, in fact,
very important for a child's long-term dental health.
Normally, some of the primary teeth remain in the mouth until a child is
eleven or twelve. During this time, they serve as space maintainers and
ensure that the permanent teeth are properly aligned as they grow into
the mouth. Early loss of primary teeth often causes misalignment of the
permanent teeth and may even alter normal facial development. Expensive
orthodontic solutions may be necessary to correct these problems.
Children need strong, healthy teeth to chew their food. Cavities and
tooth loss can make it impossible for a child to eat properly, which
affects her overall level of health. Speech development can also be
affected by premature tooth loss. In combination, these problems may
lower a child's self-esteem during her important formative years.
As you can see, primary teeth are critically important for a child's
health and development. It's important to keep them in the mouth as long
as possible by practicing excellent oral hygiene and treating problems
early.
Infant Teeth Homecare
As soon as your child gets his first teeth, you should begin cleaning
them after feedings with a moist gauze pad or washcloth. When your child
is comfortable with a toothbrush, brush his teeth twice a day with an
extra-soft toothbrush. Use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. If the
teeth touch together then gently floss your child's teeth each day, and
pay particular attention to areas where the teeth are close together.
Help your child brush and floss until he's seven to ten years old and
able to effectively keep the plaque off his teeth by himself. After
that, check his efforts occasionally. It's a good idea to keep some
disclosing tablets on hand. The vegetable dye in disclosing tablets
stains missed plaque red and makes it much easier to see.
Fluoride is an important preventive tool for infants. It's important
that we first check the fluoride level of your child's primary source of
drinking water. We sometimes prescribe fluoride tablets, and generally
recommend fluoride toothpaste and fluoride treatments here in our office
after cleanings.
The most serious dental problem for young children is called early
childhood caries or bottle syndrome. It is caused by the constant
presence of milk, formula, or fruit juice in a child's mouth during the
night, during breastfeeding, during naps, or for extended periods during
the day. Use water at these times to prevent this severe decay of baby
teeth, and always clean your child's teeth immediately after each
feeding.
Children learn best by imitation, so let them watch you as you brush and
floss your teeth. Regular praise of their homecare efforts and a
positive example will get your child started down the path of excellent
oral hygiene.
Fluoride
The widespread use of fluoride to fight cavities has been the greatest
breakthrough in the past fifty years of preventive dentistry. Fluoride
can help prevent cavities by actually hardening the outer enamel layer
of teeth, and it can even stop or slow down the growth of pre-existing
cavities.
Most water naturally contains some fluoride, but many cities add
additional fluoride to their water supplies to prevent tooth decay in
their residents, especially children. When children are young and their
teeth are forming, fluoride hardens the protective outer enamel layer,
making it more resistant to decay. The use of fluoride in drinking water
alone has dramatically decreased the incidence of cavities among school
children.
Adults also benefit from the presence of fluoride in drinking water, as
well as in oral hygiene products such as toothpaste and mouth rinses.
Fluoride can rebuild the enamel layer of teeth to repair early cavities
before they're even visible, and it can help to solve the problem of
root sensitivity in older adults. Also, we sometimes prescribe fluoride
rinses or gels to help eliminate germs that can cause gum disease.
We recommend fluoride toothpaste for all of our patients. We may also
recommend supplemental sources of fluoride for increased protection,
including fluoride drops, tablets, gels, or prescription toothpaste. We
frequently administer topical fluoride treatments following cleanings in
our office, especially for our young patients.
Fluoride is an important part of every prevention program. When combined
with good brushing and flossing habits, fluoride can dramatically reduce
the number of cavities in both children and adults.
It's important not only that your child brush after they eat; you also
need to use proper technique when brushing their teeth! Here are some
tips to make your brushing sessions more effective at removing plaque
and preventing decay.
Brush two teeth at a time, overlapping as you move along.
It's a good idea to have a regular brushing pattern. It's fine to
use any pattern you like, as long as you clean each surface of every
tooth.
To prevent future cavities, use toothpaste that contains fluoride.
Fluoride hardens the enamel on the surface of your teeth, and can even
stop cavities in their tracks. Remeber to change your toothbrush when
the bristles are worn or bent, at least every three months. Old bristles
don't clean well under the gumline, and they host more plaque and
disease-causing bacteria.
This might seem like a lot to remember, but proper brushing technique
will soon become a habit, and will keep your teeth healthy and your
breath fresh.
Brushing is a good way to prevent cavities, but flossing is just as
important! Most cavities start between your teeth, where the bristles of
your toothbrush simply can't reach. To keep your gums and teeth healthy,
you must use dental floss to remove the plaque between your teeth at
least once a day.
First, take about eighteen inches of floss and wind the two ends of it
around your middle fingers, leaving about five inches between your
hands. Pinch the floss between your thumbs and index fingers, and leave
about one inch in between to work with. Gently guide the floss between
the first two teeth using a side-to-side motion.
Pull the floss tightly in a "C" shape around the side of one tooth and
slide it under the gumline. Clean the surface of the tooth by using an
up-and-down motion, not the side-to-side motion you used to guide the
floss between the teeth. Repeat on the side of the adjacent tooth. Then
remove the floss, wind it to a fresh section, and repeat the process to
clean both sides of every tooth.
If you're just beginning to floss, your gums will probably bleed a bit.
After about a week of daily flossing, the bleeding should stop. If your
teeth are too tight to floss, or if the floss catches or tears, let us
know; it may indicate a problem that needs to be corrected.
Flossing can be time consuming and a little awkward at first, so make
sure to give yourself enough time to get used to proper flossing
technique. It will soon become an automatic part of your dental hygiene
routine, and your teeth and gums will be healthier for it.
Disclosing Tablets
Disclosing tablets contain harmless red vegetable dye that reveals
plaque left on your teeth by turning it red temporarily. By using these
special chewable tablets after you brush and floss, you can see the
areas that you're missing.
Plaque, the sticky film of food and bacteria that's constantly forming
on your teeth, is the main cause of tooth decay and periodontal disease.
If it's not removed, plaque builds up and mineralizes to become
rock-hard tartar in as little as twenty-four hours. There's no way you
can remove tartar at home, because a toothbrush and floss won't even
budge it. Tartar can only be removed with by a dental professional,
using special techniques and instruments.
After brushing and flossing, simply chew a disclosing tablet, swish it
around in your mouth for about a minute, and then rinse with water.
Using a small dental mirror, check all sides of your teeth for any areas
that have been stained red, especially near the gumline. Brush and floss
these areas again to be confident that your teeth are free from harmful
plaque.
Without even realizing it, you may be regularly missing certain parts of
your teeth when you brush and floss; disclosing tablets can help you
identify these neglected areas. For example, many of our patients don't
brush their back teeth, the back sides of their teeth, or the area next
to the gumline as thoroughly as they should. Using disclosing tablets
for a few days will show you if you routinely miss any areas. When you
know where these areas are, you can spend a bit more time brushing and
flossing them, and soon, it will be part of your regular dental hygiene
routine.
Braces Care
Braces are a great way to straighten and realign your teeth to create
the beautiful smile you deserve! However, caring for your teeth while
you have braces can be challenging, because there are a lot of brackets,
bands, and wires to work around. Because these fixtures create dozens of
"nooks and crannies" in your mouth, there are more places for food
particles and plaque to hide. This can result in tooth decay, gum
disease, and permanent staining, which will negatively affect the
terrific smile your braces were meant to create!
We'll be happy to show you special techniques for caring for your teeth
while you have your braces.
Floss at least once a day. We'll give you a floss threader to use at
home. Insert floss into the loop of the floss threader, then insert the
floss threader between the wires and your teeth. Remove the floss
threader, pull the floss into a "C" shape around the side of your tooth,
and floss up and down the sides of each tooth.
attention to the areas where the brackets and bands meet the tooth, and
where the tooth meets the gumline. It's also a good idea to carry a
travel toothbrush so you can brush your teeth when you're away from
home.
Brush each tooth using a small, circular motion. Get between the wires
and brackets as much as you can with the bristles of your toothbrush.
Professional cleanings help you keep your mouth free from plaque and
cavities.
Cutting down on sweets will help you avoid tooth decay, so avoid sugary
foods and foods that stick to your teeth. Also, watch out for hard foods
like Cornnuts, popcorn hulls, and ice, because they can damage your
braces. It's best to eat softer foods and cut hard foods into smaller
bites.
123 Albany Ave. SE
Orange City, IA 51041
dental@joinerdentistry.com
(712) 737-3521 | (712) 737-4891 fax
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