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NEWBORN CAVITY PREVENTION and USE OF SIPPY CUPS

As soon as teeth appear in the mouth, decay can occur. One of the risk factors for early childhood caries is frequent and prolonged exposure of baby's teeth to liquids containing sugar--including milk, formula and juice.Tooth decay can occur when a baby is put to bed with a bottle that contains any beverage other than water. Infants should finish their nap time or bedtime bottle and have their teeth cleaned before going to bed. Because decay can destroy the teeth of an infant or young child, parents should encourage their children to drink from a cup by their first birthday.

As the first birthday approaches, encourage your child to drink from a cup. As the change over from baby bottle to training cup takes place, be very careful about what type of cup to choose, what goes in the cup, and how often the child uses the cup. There is a large and confusing selection of training cups (sippy or tippy cups) from which to choose. Unfortunately, many if not most of these are "no spill" cups---which is nothing more than a baby bottle in disguise.

CAVITIES AND GIVING YOUR CHILD VITAMINS AND MEDICATION

Most liquid and chewable vitamins and other medications contain a high concentration of sugar to make the medication a little more acceptable to children. As a result, it is possible to develop cavities if these liquids and chewables stay in contact with your child's teeth for any length of time. It is important that you brush your child's teeth after giving them the medication. This will help to decrease the contact time of the sugary substances.