I'd like to know about nursing bottle syndrome, from experience not websites please?

Question

I'd heard about it, but didn't realise it also comes from nursing. I'd also heard babies don't need water which though mostly true, I'm now thinking it would be a good idea for nursing mothers to end a feeding with 10-20 cc of water if only to clean the teeth. I was noticing that my babies teeth looked chalky not pearly so I thought I'd scratch the surface to see if it was plaque and discovered it was worse than it looked and my baby started crying. His teeth haven't fully rotted luckily they still have their shape but one has a tiny flake that peeled. I will be taking him to the dentist on Wednesday.
Thanks for any experience or help you can share.

Answer 1

i didnt come across that

Answer 2

It is from the breast milk or formula sitting on the teeth at night time. After the baby is done nursing they don't swallow the last drink for the most part especially when they fall asleep so the sugar will sit on the teeth and eat away at the enamal and eventually cause bottle rot. I had this happen to my son at the age of 2. Please be very careful about the pediatric dentist that you choose because I took my then 2 yr. old and got his teeth checked out and found out that he had 3 small and I mean very small cavities that I couldn't even see so he got them filled and one the way home I noticed that he only had half of a tooth in all 3 spots that got filled well, the damn dentist drilled down too far and didn't leave enough tooth to adhere the filling to and it fell out. I went back and had then refill them again and the next day they were gone as well.To make a long story short..... the dentist said that there wasn't enough tooth left and he cannot fill them again and he would need caps. I got a second opioion and caps wouldn't work for him and ins. would cover the cost so it would cost $3000 out of pocket plus the cost of being put to sleep. I asked this dentist what he would do if it was his child and he said there isn't any other option than to pull them out so, he is now 8 and a half and still doesn't have any of his 4 front teeth. I say four because the ones that were nubs got infected from having open nerves and roots and the one next to it got infected as well. I am sorry this is so long but I don't want your little one to go through this as well so please watch the nursing at night and find a good dentist. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Nursing Bottle Syndrome

Answer 4

Before they even have teeth, you can start "brushing" with one of those little finger brushes or even a damp face cloth. It's a good idea to do it after feedings, especially before putting them down to sleep. If you do need to use a bottle at nap time, use plain water only in the bottle. It is also a good idea to regularily lift the lip and check along the gumline for decay as well. As long as it is just chalky and not fully decayed, you may be able to halt the decay process by keeping baby's teeth clean. Bring a list of questions for the dentist. Write them down as you think of them. That way you won't miss anything. Good luck. =)

Answer 5

Here's an interesting website or two:
http://www.breastfeeding.org/articles/dental.html
http://www.aapd.org/media/pressreleases/breastfeeding-99.asp
BTW, I doubt if your child felt any discomfort from the scratch you gave his tooth. Perhaps he didn't like the sound of it.
Best of luck on Wed.

Answer 6

they make toothpaste for infants. look in the baby isle at your supermarket...water won't cut it. good luck

Answer 7

CAN PACIFIERS AND BABY BOTTLES RUIN MY BABY'S TEETH???

Good pictures...http://www.ada.org/public/topics/decay_childhood.asp

Pacifiers
Sucking is an innate reflex that babies develop and practice in the womb as they prepare for their first meal. Sucking is so important to a child's development that it is comforting well into a child's first years of life — long after he or she no longer needs to get nourishment from a breast or bottle.
While sucking is tailor-made for an infant's nutrition, most children will also find comfort by sucking on hands, fingers or pacifiers. This "non-nutritive sucking" is soothing, but is it a problem?

Are Pacifiers a Problem?
During a child's first few years, sucking habits are unlikely to cause significant damage to a child's mouth. But persistent and long-term sucking, especially after the permanent teeth begin to come into the mouth around age 6, can cause:
-The top front teeth to slant out
-The bottom front teeth to tilt in
-The upper and lower jaws to be misaligned
-The roof of the mouth to be narrowed
Here are a few things you can do:
-If your infant uses a pacifier, buy only products that are constructed as one piece. There shouldn't be any parts that can break off and potentially be swallowed or breathed into the lungs.
-Never fasten a pacifier on a string or necklace around your child's neck. Your baby could accidentally be strangled.
-Offer your child a pacifier that is marketed as "orthodontically correct because this type may cause less distortion to the teeth."
-Don't try to calm a fussy baby by dipping the pacifier in honey or sugar water. This will increase your child's risk of tooth decay.
Use positive reinforcement to encourage older children to give up the pacifier or thumb.

Early Childhood Tooth Decay: The Role of the Bottle
Many children satisy their desire to suck by continuing to use a bottle or sippy cup as a pacifier or by breastfeeding long after these habits are no longer needed for nutrition. If the bottle or cup contains anything other than plain water, the frequent sucking or sipping may put the child at very high risk of developing early and extensive tooth decay.
The more often sugars or other carbohydrates stay in the mouth, the more food they provide for cavity-causing bacteria and the more likely it is the child will develop early childhood tooth decay (also called early childhood caries). This early decay is particularly worrisome because it spreads rapidly, often causes pain and infection, and puts the child at risk of having cavities throughout life.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 28% of children 2 to 5 years old in the United States have had some tooth decay. Many of these children have the severest form of early childhood caries, which causes pain that interferes with eating, sleeping and normal play. Children with extensive early tooth decay may need to have teeth extracted before their third birthday and often need to have their teeth repaired in the hospital operating room under general anesthesia.
In the earliest stages of early childhood caries, the teeth may appear to have small white spots or lines, especially along the edges of the gums. As the disease advances, these patches become brown and chipped. Since this form of tooth decay can progress very rapidly and cause severe dental problems, parents should seek the advice of a dentist as soon as they notice these discolorations.
The best way to learn about your child's risk of early childhood caries is to start dental care early. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry suggests that a child's first dental visit should be scheduled around the time the child's first tooth emerges and no later than the child's first birthday.

Long-Term Consequences
Baby teeth remain in children's mouths long after the children are no longer babies. In fact, these teeth continue to function into the early teen years. For this reason, it is important to keep the baby teeth healthy and to take care of cavities if they develop. As with permanent teeth, tooth decay in baby teeth can lead to pain and trouble eating and speaking. If baby teeth are severely decayed or are lost early, other teeth can move into the space, which causes the adult teeth to come in crowded or crooked.

Preventing Decay
Decay can almost always be prevented by keeping the mouth in a state of health. This requires healthy eating, good oral hygiene using a carefully controlled amount of fluoridated toothpaste after a child's first birthday and regular professional attention.
Here are several things parents can do to prevent cavities in their children:
-Don't let your infant walk around with or go to sleep with a bottle or sippy cup that contains anything other than plain water.
-If your infant uses a bottle as a pacifier, fill it with water instead of milk, or substitute a pacifier.
-Whether you're breastfeeding or using a bottle, wipe your child's gums and teeth with a damp washcloth or gauze pad at least twice a day.
-If you've had problems with cavities, take special care to avoid sharing your mouth's bacteria with your infant or toddler. Bacteria that lead to early childhood caries are typically passed from mothers to children. This can happen several ways, for example if you taste the child's food with a spoon that you then use to feed your child, allow your child to suck on his or her finger after putting it in your mouth, or lick a pacifier that fell on the floor before giving it to your child. These are normal behaviors for parents, but if you have had many cavities, you can help your child avoid the same problem by trying to prevent transmitting the bacteria in your mouth to your child.
-Call your public health department to make sure your local water contains an optimal level of fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay. If it doesn't, ask your dentist or pediatrician how your child's fluoride needs should be managed.
http://www.simplestepsdental.com/SS/ihtSS/r.WSIHW000/st.31840/t.31895/pr.3.html

Teeth at Birth?
Soon after an infant is born, a physician or nurse practitioner thoroughly examines his or her body, including the mouth. Most of the time a baby's gums, tongue and soft palate are normally developed and ready for action. But sometimes there are harmless variations that may surprise some parents.

Epstein's pearls — These small, white, pearl-like spots appear on the roof of the mouth. These bumps are harmless and tend to disappear within a few weeks.
Bohn's nodules — These small, whitish bumps or cysts look like Epstein's pearls, but they develop on the sides of the gum ridge rather than the roof of the mouth.
Inclusion cysts — These small bumps appear along the crest of the gum ridge. They are harmless.
Natal and neonatal teeth — Some infants are born with one or more teeth, called natal teeth. Some babies have teeth emerge into the mouth within the first 30 days of life. These are called neonatal teeth. Because these are primary (baby) teeth, not extra teeth, it is a good idea to keep them if possible. However, natal or neonatal teeth may have to be removed if they are at risk of becoming detached, interfere with feeding or significantly irritate the tongue or lip.

Caring for Your Infant's Mouth
Just because your baby doesn't have teeth yet doesn't mean that you shouldn't clean his or her mouth.
As soon as your baby is born, it is a good idea to get in the habit of cleaning his or her gums. Although there may be a little fussing at first, your infant will get used to having his or her mouth cleaned like other parts of the body. Many children grow to enjoy toothbrushing as part of their daily routine.

To clean your baby's mouth:
-Lay your infant in your lap with his or her head close to your chest so you can look down directly into your child's mouth.
-Clean the gums and the teeth — when they arrive — by rubbing a clean, damp, washcloth along the baby's upper and lower gums. You can also use terrycloth finger cots, which fit over the finger and are made for this purpose. They are sold in many drugstores.
-Do this at least twice a day — once after breakfast and once after the last feeding of the day. You can continue using cloth or switch to a soft-bristled, infant-sized toothbrush after teeth first come into the mouth. By the time the molars (back teeth) first appear around age 1, it is best to use a toothbrush all the time.

Teething
Between 3 and 9 months, your infant's baby teeth will begin to erupt (emerge into the mouth), starting with the lower two front teeth (incisors). While the timing varies considerably among children, the order and symmetry is very predictable. After the four incisors come in on both the lower and upper jaw, the first molars erupt, followed by canines (eye teeth) and then the second molars further back in the mouth. Most children have a full set of 20 baby teeth by age 2½ or 3.
The time when a baby's primary teeth begin to emerge into the mouth can go by almost unnoticed or can be stressful for parents and children alike. Teething may make your child irritable or fussy and may cause restlessness, drooling or loss of appetite. However, teething has not been shown to be responsible for other childhood symptoms such as fever, vomiting or diarrhea.
You can ease your child's teething discomfort by:
-Giving him or her a hard or frozen teething ring to chew on
-Applying pressure over the gums by rubbing them with a clean finger
-Using a small dab of an over-the-counter teething gel (following the manufacturer's instructions) to temporarily numb the gums

Sucking Habits
It is completely normal and healthy for your baby or young child to suck on a thumb, finger or pacifier. It's not something you need to be alarmed about or discourage. Sucking is a natural reflex and something he or she did in the womb.
Children usually give up sucking habits on their own by the time they are 4 to 5 years old. If they stop the habit at this age, the shape of the jaw is usually not affected and the teeth grow in normally. However, some children find the sucking habit hard to break. Children who are still sucking on a pacifier, finger or thumb when their permanent (adult) teeth start to come in are more likely to have bite problems. Sucking can cause:

The top front teeth to slant out
The bottom front teeth to tilt in
The upper and lower jaws to be misaligned
The roof of the mouth to be narrowed
The amount of distortion caused by sucking depends on the intensity, frequency and duration, as well as the object that the child is sucking on.

To help an older child break a sucking habit, it is important to explain clearly why the habit can be harmful, to be supportive and encouraging and to provide positive acknowledgment of efforts to end the habit. If the child sucks a finger or pacifier because of a stressful situation, it can be very helpful to address the source of the stress. When needed, dentists can provide appliances that correct distortions created by the sucking habit and help the child stop the habit.
Here are a few ways parents can encourage their child to quit sucking a finger or thumb.

Use positive reinforcement.
Track progress by noting every successful day using a sticker or star on a chart.
Put an adhesive bandage (Band-Aid and other brands) on the finger as a reminder or have your child wear a mitten when sleeping.
Take the finger out of your child's mouth after he or she falls asleep.
Pacifier Tips
If your child uses a pacifier, make sure it is always used safely.
Never fasten a pacifier on a string or necklace around your child's neck; your child could accidentally be strangled.

Choose a pacifier that:
-Is one piece rather than several parts
-Has ventilating holes on the sides
-Is large enough so that your child can't swallow it
-Is made of a flexible, nontoxic material
-Has a handle that is easy to grasp
-Always check the pacifier before giving it to your child. Make sure there are no tears. If there are, replace it. Never dip a pacifier in honey or any other sweet substance before giving it to your baby. This could lead to serious tooth decay
http://www.simplestepsdental.com/SS/ihtSS/r.WSIHW000/st.31840/t.32478/pr.3.html