Community› The Bump Local Boards› Northern California Babies
Northern California Babies
New Discussion

Bottle rot? A psa of sorts

ashleyhuneyashleyhuney member
in Northern California Babies

A new friend has a beautiful little toddler, until she smiles and you can see parts of her front teeth are brown and rotten :(  I didn't want to ask what happened, she's super healthy/vegan, but it came up in a convo yesterday that she has bottle rot even though she never had a bottle!  It happened when her teeth were coming in and she was nursing at night.  When friend noticed something was the matter she took her to the dentist where they told her that as soon as babies have teeth you have to rub them clean after every meal, especially at night.  And that the rot is there until the teeth fall out :(

WTH??  I hadn't heard this before?  Am I the only one who didn't know?  I know that you should "brush" his teeth, but I thought it was like 2 times a day, not EVERY time he drinks or eats.  J doesn't have any teeth yet, but maybe we should start rubbing his gums sooner so it's not such a big change later.  He always falls asleep nursing in the middle of the night, now I have to wake him to mess with his mouth?  fun.

Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
Report Reply to Post

Re: Bottle rot? A psa of sorts

  • Mrs_ShmoopieMrs_Shmoopie
    Wow, that's crazy!  Some people must be predisposed to that, though.  B/c J had 4 teeth by the time he was about 4-5 mos and was still taking a bottle in the middle of the night until he was about 10 mos and yet his teeth are fine...  And we didn't brush his teeth regularly for way too long, on top of that. 
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • green*eyesgreen*eyes
    Eek! How old was he when this happened? It's hard to believe that night nursing an under-1 year old would do it, even if he did have teeth?? 
    Report Reply
  • ashleyhuneyashleyhuney member

    imagegreen*eyes:
    Eek! How old was he when this happened? It's hard to believe that night nursing an under-1 year old would do it, even if he did have teeth?? 

    She, she's seriously a beautiful light as a fairy little girl otherwise.  Under a year, when they were first coming in, the rot is about half way down the teeth.  It's like a brown line across a couple teeth. 

    It may be a pre-disposition, because this is a no sugar/vegan/organic extemely healthy family.  However, how do I know that J isn't pre-disposed??

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • kittylovekittylove member

    In all my years as a nanny I have never heard such a thing and I have given plenty of bottles before bed to infants and not ONCE brushed their teeth afterward, oh and none of them had bottle rot either. Also I had been told that as long as the child in held upright after the bottle/nursing and swallows the milk, that bottle rot won't be an issue.

    Question: Do they co-sleep? I only ask because some co-sleepers alow thier children to nurse through out the night, and this CAN cause bottle rot because the child litterally has milk in thier mouth all night long.

    Report Reply
  • sunshyne28sunshyne28 member

    That's so unfortunate.  =( 

    Cavities/teeth rot isn't actually caused by food/milk.  It's caused by bacteria.  Of course if you never clean a child's teeth, the bacteria will have something to feed off of and grow thus having a higher risk for decay so it is a good idea to clean a child's teeth every so often.  I know it's extremely hard but I would more likely suggest that the adults/older kids around the baby not share food (or eat off the same spoon/fork) or share the same drinks or kiss near the mouth.  Also, keep the baby's toothbrush separate from everyone else's toothbrush (not in the same holder).  This is how the bacteria is passed to the babies. 

    Trying to brush/clean a baby's teeth several times a day could probably get traumatizing for everyone.  =)  I think it's more important that mom/dad/siblings get regular dentist visits.



    Sugar Bomb cooking blog
    Report Reply
  • ashleyhuneyashleyhuney member
    imagekittylove:

    Question: Do they co-sleep? I only ask because some co-sleepers alow thier children to nurse through out the night, and this CAN cause bottle rot because the child litterally has milk in thier mouth all night long.

    You know, I don't know if they did/do, but I wouldn't be surprised.  She's a AP, CDing mama and co-sleeping usually is part of that package.

     

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • ashleyhuneyashleyhuney member
    imagesunshyne28:

    That's so unfortunate.  =( 

    Cavities/teeth rot isn't actually caused by food/milk.  It's caused by bacteria.  Of course if you never clean a child's teeth, the bacteria will have something to feed off of and grow thus having a higher risk for decay so it is a good idea to clean a child's teeth every so often.  I know it's extremely hard but I would more likely suggest that the adults/older kids around the baby not share food (or eat off the same spoon/fork) or share the same drinks or kiss near the mouth.  Also, keep the baby's toothbrush separate from everyone else's toothbrush (not in the same holder).  This is how the bacteria is passed to the babies. 

    Trying to brush/clean a baby's teeth several times a day could probably get traumatizing for everyone.  =)  I think it's more important that mom/dad/siblings get regular dentist visits.


    Are you a dentist?  How often should you clean baby's mouth?  Is it ok that he falls asleep nursing?  Oops, lately J's been giving sloppy kisses around my mouth, I'll try to keep kisses on cheeks from now on!

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"