My 17 month old still wakes up once in the night for a small cup of milk. Can this rot his teeth?

Question

I know baby bottles at night can rot their teeth but I never have heard of any one talk about cups rotting the teeth. He goes to sleep on his own and does not walk around with a sippy cup in his mouth. I have tried giving him water when he wakes up but he wants that milk. Do I have any reason to worry? Thanks

Answer 1

its' nothing to worry about. think about it. even when he doesn't have milk, he'll still have saliva in his mouth, which also causes damage - but nothing can be done to prevent it.

if you are worried that the sugar in the milk (lactose) is going to damage his teeth, water the milk a little more each time until it's pretty much all water

Answer 2

Even though it is a sippy cup it still can be bad. When you leave anything food or drink on your teeth without saliva moving around to help rinse them like it would during the day you run the risk of rotting. I started water down the milk till it was just white colored water then went to straight water. Good Luck

Answer 3

the problem is when they fall asleep drinking. Its because when they fall asleep the bottle is still in their mouth and the milk pools their. So essentially their little teeth are sitting in the milk. This can still happen if they are falling asleep with a sippy cup. The best thing would be for them to brush their teeth after eating or drinking any thing other then water but I don't think its a really big worry unless they are falling asleep with it in their mouths.

Answer 4

The rotting teeth has to do with allowing the child to fall asleep with the cup holding the milk still in his mouth. If it's just a drink in the middle night and he doesn't fall asleep with it still in his mouth, you don't have that problem.

Answer 5

Acctually it can rot their teeth if you keep doing it over a long period of time. Thats why your not suppose to put your child to bed with a bottle to drink when they want.

" Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (BBTD) is caused by prolonged contact with almost any liquid other than water. This can happen from putting her to bed with a bottle of formula, milk, juice, soft drinks, sugar water, sugared drinks, etc. Allowing her to suck on a bottle or breastfeed for longer than a mealtime, either when awake or asleep, can also cause BBTD."

Answer 6

well my first had four rotten teeth at 18 months and had to get those four pulled . but she would drink juice or milk from the cup ! My second is now 24months and still goes to bed with a cup of milk . I've had no problems with her teeth . it all depends on the enamel and how often they brush , i would say at the firs sign of discoloration contact a pediatric dentist

Answer 7

it is not the bottle that rots the teeth but the milk...try to work on getting him to take water again

Answer 8

milk won't rot their teeth....but i would suggest giving a little bit of water at night (set a sippie cup of water next to their bed) instead of milk.....


that was suggested to my cousin when her daughter kept asking for milk at night, i don't remember why exactly though

Answer 9

This will absolutely rot your babies teeth! It isn't the bottle that's rotting the teeth it's the milk. It can effect their perm teeth to. I know its sooooo hard but you have to let them cry for a couple nights.Try a pacifier or rocking him.

Answer 10

Rotting teeth usually comes from putting juice and drinks with sugar in their bottles. They just don't want you to give them bottles full of sugar and let them sit in their mouths so the sugar sits on their teeth.