The term describes a dental condition which involves the rapid decay of many or all the baby teeth of an infant or child. The teeth most likely to be damaged are the upper front teeth since they are the first teeth to erupt and thus have the longest exposure time to the sugars in the feeding bottle.
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay is caused by long exposure of a childs teeth to liquid containing sugars generally when the baby falls asleep with a bottle containing milk or juice or a pacifier dipped in honey. By the time the condition is noticed by the parents it may be too late and extractions of the decayed teeth may be necessary. As a result, your child may suffer from long term disorders which include speech impediments, possible psychological damage, crooked or crowded teeth, and poor oral health.
Early Childhood Caries (
ECC) also known as baby bottle tooth decay or nursing bottle caries poses a grave threat to a childs milk teeth and overall development.
The term describes a dental condition which involves the rapid decay of many or all the
baby teeth of an infant or child. The teeth most likely to be damaged are the upper front teeth since they are the first teeth to erupt and thus have the longest exposure time to the sugars in the feeding bottle. The lower front teeth tend to be protected by the tongue as the child sucks on the nipple of the bottle or the breast.
Early Childhood Caries (
Baby Bottle Tooth Decay) is caused by long exposure of a childs teeth to liquid containing sugars generally when the baby falls asleep with a bottle containing milk or juice or a pacifier dipped in honey. The liquid pools around the front teeth. During sleep, the bacteria living in every babys mouth, turns the milk sugar or other sugars to acid which causes the decay.
By the time the condition is noticed by the parents it may be too late and extractions of the decayed teeth may be necessary. As a result, your child may suffer from long term disorders which include speech impediments, possible psychological damage, crooked or crowded teeth, and poor oral health.A large volume of children we examine on a daily basis will fall under the category of early childhood caries hence a closer look at
ECC is presented here.
Causative factors:
- Use of baby bottle at nap time(day or night)
- On- demand feed ( both by bottle as well as breast feeding) especially at night.
- Use of juices or aerated drinks in the nursing bottle.
- Poor oral hygiene measures.
Ramifications:
- General discomfort and pain sometimes leading to swelling and fever.
- Poor dietary habits as the child will prefer a soft diet. (And kids being kids most of the times this soft diet is sometimes sweet which adds to the problem).
- Sub optimal nutrition leading to poor overall growth.
- May sometimes affect the developing permanent tooth underneath (the permanent tooth may get discolored, deformed, etc.)
- Difficulty in acquiring speech skills in some cases.
- Probability of malocclusion on premature extraction of milk teeth.
For more information, visit:
Delhi Dental Center
