ARTICLES TO READ

HOW CAN I PROPERLY FEED MY BABY TO PREVENT CAVITIES?

If feeding your baby from a bottle, avoid liquids containing sugar such as sweetened water, fruit juices, and soft drinks. It is important to limit the use of the bottle to feeding times only. When the bottle is used as a "pacifier" to quiet the baby or to help the baby sleep, the sugar in milk or other liquids bathe the teeth which increases the chance for decay. This type of decay is referred to as Early Childhood Cavities or ECC for short. If you do allow to the child to fall asleep on the bottle, you must wipe the teeth with a gauze or washcloth to remove any of the liquid off the teeth. If you do not do this, you are increasing the chances of your child developing tooth decay.

CAN BREAST FEEDING CAUSE TOOTH DECAY IN MY BABY'S TEETH?

Prolong breast feeding, especially throughout the night, can cause decay similar to that caused in infants that sleep with a bottle containing milk or other sweetened liquids. The infant should be held while nursing and placed in bed afterwards. If the child does fall asleep while breast feeding, it is very important that you wipe your child's teeth with a gauze or washcloth to remove the milk from their teeth. If you do not do this, you are increasing the chances of your child developing tooth decay.

WHEN SHOULD I WEAN MY BABY FROM THE BOTTLE OR FROM NURSING?

Weaning, many times, is personal. However, generally, it is recommended when the child reaches one year of age. This is an extremely important time in establishing future eating habits of you child. It is important to discuss the best method to wean your child with your pediatrician.

CUPS, SIPPY CUPS, AND STRAWS

After bottle feeding and breast feeding, many parents first turn to a sippy cup because of their convenience but whether they have a hard or soft spout, sippy cups don't offer much in the way of oral skills development. Just like with a bottle, baby places their tongue at the front of their mouth to form a seal and suckle while using a sippy cup. For this reason, some pediatricians and speech pathologist recommend straw cups over sippy cups. With straw cups, your baby is more likely to learn the new skill of pulling their tongue to the back of their mouth when they drink. Developmentally, there is no reason why your baby needs to use a sippy or straw cup in the first place. Some babies go straight from a bottle to an open cup so consider this option as well. Regardless, babies can be picky about cup perveances so be flexible and help your baby be flexible. Exposing your baby to a variety of cups will improve hand-eye coordination and work the face and mouth muscles to improve drinking , feeding and speech.

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