Everything you didn't know about baby bottle tooth decay

Baby bottle tooth decay is an aggressive form of caries found in baby teeth (in children under 3 years of age). It affects milk teeth in the order of their eruption.

Why baby bottle tooth decay occurs

Baby bottle tooth decay is caused by prolonged bottle-feeding of sweet drinks (milk, sweetened tea, juice). The teeth are in contact with these sweetened liquids for a long time, hours during the night, forming colonies of bacteria that will attack the surface of the fragile enamel. The evolution of this type of dental caries is very rapid and symptomless, which is why visiting the dentist is too late. This type of decay appears as a yellowish or crusty stain at the base of the milk tooth, rapidly affecting the entire surface of the crown. The teeth grind very easily down to the gum.

Complications of baby bottle tooth decay

• Milk tooth pain;
• crown fracture;
• spontaneous or provoked pain when touching the affected teeth; avoid cold liquids, cold or hot foods and sweet foods;
• the nerve of the milk tooth is damaged and the dental abscess appears (the pain is accentuated, the child is agitated and has fever);
• premature loss of baby teeth.

If the baby bottle tooth decay is too advanced, the milk teeth are lost too early. The child's physical appearance and speech are affected. The baby teeth keep the spaces for the future permanent teeth, by removing them early, the permanent teeth come out in crooked, crowded positions, requiring the use of braces later. These can be prevented extremely easily from the time of eruption of the first baby tooth by simple hygiene and proper nutrition.

How to prevent baby bottle tooth decay

• cleaning your gums even if your teeth have not erupted;
• tooth brushing is done as soon as the first baby tooth appears;
• cutting sweet foods;
• reducing bottle feeding time (used for feeding only);
• drinking water before bedtime;
• brush your teeth twice a day, especially before bedtime;
• regular dental check-ups (every 3 months). Dental check-up as soon as the first baby tooth erupts. In this way the child gets used to the doctor and the medical instruments. The doctor informs you about how to brush the baby teeth correctly, treatment solutions and complications that can arise from baby bottle tooth decay. The child will be more cooperative if the first visits are safe, short and pleasant;
• creating healthy eating habits.

MIT: Many parents think that baby teeth will fall out by the age of 6-7 and there is no point in treating them .The infection that affects the root of the baby tooth spreads to the permanent tooth.