Dental Questions: Can I put my baby to sleep with a bottle?

February is the official National Children's Dental Health Month, as recognized by the ADA. Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry will be rolling out weekly topics relating to pediatric dentistry all month long. Make sure to check back regularly to catch all the great information. 

Putting your baby to sleep with a bottle is an idea that has crossed every parent's mind. A bottle of formula, warm milk or juice may sooth fussy sleepers and make bedtime a much easier task. You have probably heard that making a routine of sleeping with a bottle can lead to tooth decay, but could a few nights a month or week be fine? At our office, we recommend avoiding putting infants to sleep with a bottle all together. Take a look!

For starters, putting your baby to sleep with anything that contains carbs or sugars will eventually cause enamel decalcification and tooth decay. Even drinks that aren't normally considered sweet, like milk, contain enough carbohydrates to start the decay process. This problem is so common that it even has its own name, baby bottle tooth decay, where the front teeth develop cavities in a telltale fashion. The problem with using a bottle only once or twice a month is that it can create a habit that is hard to break. Difficult sleepers and tired parents can lead to a slippery slope!

What about water? While water does nothing harmful to the teeth, its still not a great idea. Putting a baby to sleep with a bottle of any liquid increases their risk of ear infection. As fluids pool at the eustachian tubes in the throat, it creates a more ideal environment for bacterial growth. Again, your best bet it to avoid sleeping with bottles all together. 

We know that raising and caring for a newborn is a monumental task. At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are here to answer any dental questions you may have. If you would like to know more about children's teeth. tooth decay or good oral health, please give our office a call!

Oral Hygiene for Kids

We know that getting your young ones to keep their teeth clean can be a challenge. However, the effort is definitely worth it: healthy baby teeth assist in the proper positioning and development of the adult dentition. Not to mention starting your children off young sets them up for a lifetime of great oral health, often saving thousands of dollars in dental expenses. Read on to discover how to maximize the protective factors for your child's teeth!

The first baby teeth typically erupt into the mouth between 6 and 18 months. Prior to this, we suggest keeping your child's mouth clean with a wet cloth. Once the teeth erupt, you should start brushing twice a day with a rice-grain sized smear of fluoride toothpaste. After two teeth grow in next to each other, you can begin flossing in this area. At about three years, you can start brushing with a pea-sized portion of paste.  Remember, children typically lack the dexterity to brush and floss their own teeth until they can tie their own shoes. Be careful to monitor how much toothpaste that they are using and make sure they are not swallowing excessive paste. 

The bacteria responsible for tooth decay colonize children at a young age (usually under the age of three). New research suggests that sharing utensils or cleaning dropped pacifiers and bottles with spit during this period can prematurely introduce these bacteria to a child's mouth. While there is a near 100% chance that these bacteria will eventually colonize everyone, delaying them as long as possible may prevent the number and extent of cavities. Once your child is old enough to rinse and spit without swallowing, you can add a fluoride rinse like ACT brand to double down on cavity prevention. 

We recommend bringing your child in for their first dental visit at 12 months of age or when all four central incisors are erupted (whichever is first). This is a short appointment for a general exam and to introduce your child to the dental office setting. If you would like to know more about cavity prevention, children's oral health or dental development, please give our office a call!

Fruit Juice and Baby Teeth

In a recent article, the American Association of Pediatrics has announced that children under the age of 1 year should not be given fruit juice. They propose that juice "offers no nutritional benefits early in life" and that the process of making juice strips fruit of its natural fibers while concentrating sugars. From a dental perspective, fruit juice proposes many threats to developing teeth and can contribute to rampant decay. 

One of the biggest problems with childhood juice consumption is the misconception that fruit juice is "healthy." Whether natural, organic, unfiltered or cold pressed, all commercially available juices are high in dietary sugar. In fact, most rival the sugar content of colas and other soft drinks. This, combined with juice's typically acidic content, makes it a perfect fuel for tooth decay. Liquids are excellent at bathing the teeth, while the sugar content feeds bacteria and acidity weakens enamel. This perfect storm leaves many children with a tell-tale pattern of cavities sometimes known as "Mountain Dew Mouth." 

Small servings of juice once a day (particularly when served with a meal) are generally acceptable from a dental perspective. Multiple servings, putting children to sleep with bottles full of juice and sipping on juice all day (regardless of actual quantity consumed) put a child's dental health at jeopardy. Remember, tooth decay relates to the duration of time consuming a sugary beverage rather than the actual amount of sugar consumed. If you would like to know more about tooth decay, preventing cavities in baby teeth or pediatric dentistry, please give our office a call!

Dental Questions: Can eating fruit harm your teeth?

Fruits and vegetables are often hailed as the healthiest parts of a balanced diet. They bring vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to almost every dish, while avoiding harmful fats and oils. However, since many fruits are acidic and high in sugars, they can be potentially harmful to your teeth.

As with all foods, the quantity and quality of the fruit you eat doesn't matter as much as the duration in which it is consumed. The bacteria in your mouth don't care if it's organic and natural or processed and preserved. To them, sugar is sugar. As such, the best way you can modify the bacteria's response is to limit the time that your teeth are exposed to carbohydrates.

Every time we eat or drink our mouths turn to an acidic state for 30 minutes. During this period, dental enamel becomes softened and prone to decay. In this sense, someone who eats every 30 minutes spends nearly the entire day damaging their teeth. This is why snacking on apple slices all day is more harmful than eating a single candy bar immediately after a meal (in a strictly dental sense).  

Another factor you can control is the consistency of the foods you eat. Sticky and dry fruits like raisins can be much more harmful than something crisp and moist like pear or apple. This is particularly true in children, who don't have a natural tendency to pick food out of their teeth. 

In total, fruit makes an excellent healthy snack, but must be enjoyed in moderation. Realize that it still contains acids and sugars that fuel the tooth decay process. As with any sweet food, we recommend keeping snacking on fruits to a minimum and sticking to eating only at mealtime. If you must snack, make sure that you are cleaning your teeth of any residual food and rinsing with water when you're finished. If you have any more questions on diets, tooth decay and cavity prevention, please give our office a call!