Infant tooth decay

Parents may not realize the harm in sending their child to bed with a bottle filled with milk or juice. But in fact, it's become such a problem that Cape Girardeau pediatric dentist David Johnson sees about two infant patients per day with tooth decay.

Early childhood caries, commonly known as "baby bottle tooth decay," occurs when children are frequently exposed to sugary liquids, such as milk, breast milk, formula, fruit juice and other sweet liquids for a long period of time. Tooth decay can begin as teeth emerge in children about 6 months old.

The problem often occurs because parents give children bottles to help put them to sleep, Johnson said.

"Once the child is asleep, they stop swallowing the liquid, which will cling to the child's teeth," Johnson said.

Any liquid containing sugar can be converted to acid, which is the cause of tooth decay.

"A lot of parents don't realize how much damage they are doing by giving their kids a bottle to fall asleep with," Johnson said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease. It is five times more common than asthma, four times more common than early-childhood obesity and 20 times more common than diabetes.

Christy Sprengel, a nutritionist with the Cape Girardeau County Health Center, provides information about infant tooth decay to clients in the Women, Infants and Children program.

Despite WIC's efforts to warn parents of the problems associated with sugary liquids, about three percent of WIC's child clients have major tooth decay.

"Some will have caps on their teeth already, some will already have teeth pulled out -- it can be a problem," Sprengel said.

Johnson advises parents to send their babies to bed with a bottle of water instead of milk or juices. Water inside city limits contains fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay and makes teeth strong. However, residents who live in rural areas rely on well water, which doesn't contain fluoride.

"Tooth decay isn't hereditary. In fact, it's really preventable," Johnson said. "It's really important that parents take responsibility of their children's teeth to prevent decay from occurring."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246