Baby Bottle Tooth Decay
Girl smiling
This lesson is intended to understand and promote the importance of proper dental care for infants.

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Various stages of baby bottle tooth decay.

Decay or cavities can start before your baby even has teeth. The baby or primary teeth are important to your child. They help your child chew food easily, speak clearly, and act as spacers for permanent teeth. Decay can be painful and also place the child at risk for increased infections and illness.

The four most important causes of Tooth Decay are:

1. Enamel defects or a tooth that is susceptible to decay
2. High carbohydrate intake in the infant's diet
3. Oral hygiene of the mother and baby
4. Milk pooling in the babies mouth from a dripping bottle

OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session you will be able to:
*Choose one method for cleaning your infants' gums/teeth
*Choose two benefits of healthy teeth
*Observe the difference between healthy and unhealthy teeth
*Select a teething method that may work for your child
*Name two ways to wean your baby from a bottle
*Identify two snacks that are tooth healthy

Activity 1: Importance of Dental Care

List two reasons why you think dental care is important for children:

Dental care is important because...
- It keeps your child's teeth healthy for:
  - chewing
  - speaking
  - healthy adult teeth
  - overall health
  - avoid the pain of dental procedures due to unhealthy teeth
- What happens if your infant loses his/her teeth too early?
  - Permanent teeth will be affected; they may come in crowded or out of alignment.

When should dental care for infants begin?
- At birth! Wiping your infant's gums at least once a day with a clean, damp washcloth or gauze pad will help reduce plaque build up.
- A small soft baby toothbrush can also be used!
What is Plaque?
It is a soft, sticky, and colorless film that is made up of germs that live on your infant's teeth and gums all the time.

It's important to remove plaque from your baby's gums even before teeth appear.
Plaque must be removed daily to prevent the germs from making acid and other products that can cause cavities and damage the gums and bone around the teeth.

When should tooth brushing begin?
- Begin brushing your child's teeth as soon as the first tooth erupts.
- Not all children will cooperate, but you should insist upon doing this.
- It is very important to clean your baby's teeth before bedtime.
- Start dental visits by your child's first birthday. If you think your child has dental problems, take him/her to the dentist as soon as possible.

Activity 2: Childhood Caries
Questions

1. You don't need to brush or clean your baby's mouth until they get teeth.	True	False
2. Your child is not at risk for infection or illness if he has dental decay.	True	False
3. After each feeding, wipe the child's teeth and gums with a damp washcloth or gauze pad, to remove plaque.	True	False
4. Children who have cavities or teeth removed are not at risk for poor nutrition.	True	False
5. You should always help your children brush their teeth.	True	False

1. Plaque is present from birth and baby's mouth needs to be cleaned on a daily basis.
2. Decay is often accompanied by infection. Infection reduces your bodies ability to fight illness.
3. It is important to wipe your infant's teeth and gums after each feeding to remove unwanted plaque.
4. Cavities and missing teeth make it harder for children to bite and chew foods. Avoiding foods limits the variety of nutrients children need to grow and develop.
5. It is recommended that you supervise your children while they brush.

What is Early Childhood Caries (Baby Bottle Tooth Decay)?

The destruction of the first teeth caused by allowing a baby's teeth and gums to bathe in sugary-rich liquids for a long time

This destruction is characterized by cavities, usually on the top front teeth.

The cavities may look like brown stains, soft spots, holes, or broken teeth. White spots can be baby bottle tooth decay. They look very white and dull on the tooth. These can develop into decay in as little as 30 days.
How does Baby Bottle Tooth Decay happen?

Usually when an infant is allowed to drink from a bottle too often, especially when the baby goes to sleep with the bottle

When an infant falls asleep with the bottle in her mouth, the juice or milk will cause bacteria to make (acid) plaque on the teeth or gums.

Plaque can eventually lead to cavities that can cause painful toothaches and make it hard for the infant to eat.

When babies are given bottles to fall asleep with there is also a chance of ear infection from fluid drainage into the ear.

Activity 3:
Questions:

1. It's OK to let your baby fall asleep with a bottle in her mouth.	True	False
2. You should coat a pacifier in sugar to make it taste better.	True	False
3. Bacteria grows faster in sugar.	True	False
4. Babies can get ear infections from falling asleep with a bottle in the mouth.	True	False

1. The liquid in the bottle can cause choking and tooth decay.
2. Coating a pacifier or nipple in sugar gives the bacteria more food to grow on.
3. Sugar is bacteria's favorite food and can be found in fruit juice, formula, milk and many other foods.
4. Laying a baby flat during feeding may allow formula to enter the middle ear and cause irritation.

Teething

When do a baby's primary teeth come in?
- It varies from baby to baby
- Primary teeth generallycome in around 6-9 months and most babies have all their baby teeth by the time they are 2 years old
What can you do to make teething easier for your baby?
- Provide cold teething rings.
- Give your baby a cool, clean washcloth to chew on. Or try teething tablets, and rub your baby's gums with clean fingers

Weaning and Healthy Snack Foods
How do I get my child to fall asleep (without using a bottle filled with juices or formulas?)

Establish a new bedtime routine.
If your baby needs a bottle for comfort, fill it with plain water, or use a clean orthopedic pacifier (never one dipped in honey or sugar)
Offer your baby a blanket, stuffed animal, or music instead of a bottle.
Hold or rock you baby to sleep
Your baby will learn it is nighttime by the patterns you establish. There may be some resistance and tears for the first few days, but pediatricians find that children adapt easily - usually in less than a week.
Introduce juice in a cup - bottles should only be used for formula or water
Your baby should be off the bottle around his/her first birthday
Snacks for Healthy Teeth (~8 months and older)
- Foods low in sugar like WIC cereals as opposed to high sugar cereals such as Sugar Smacks. WIC cereals low in sugar are Cheerios, Rice Chex, Kix, Life and Corn Flakes.
- Foods that contain:
  - Protein: meat, beans, peanut butter
  - Calcium: milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese
  - Vitamin A: carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, cantaloupe
  - Vitamin C: citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, mangoes
  - Vitamin D: fortified milk, egg yolk, fatty fish
- Minimize foods that are high in sugar (cookies, candies, kool-aid, soda, etc.)
- Use caution with foods that can cause choking hazards (grapes, popcorn, nuts, peanut butter, hotdogs, celery, carrots and apples)

Now lets review:

Name one way to clean your infant's gums/teeth:

What is a benefit of having healthy teeth?

Name one way to wean your child from the bottle.

Identity two healthy snacks for your infant.

Which WIC Office do you go to?

AK Regional Hospital
Eagle River
L Street
Providence Hospital

Where are you taking today's lesson?

You have just completed the infant class.

Back to WIC Lessons
Revised: 06-13-2008