[Oriyan]

.. so I know babies are not supposed to "go to bed with a bottle" because it can cause bottle rot.

However --

Is it bad to let them finish their bottle in their crib and immediately take it away from them when they are done?

Seems like we found the key to getting J.J to go to sleep within 30 minutes (instead of crying or cuddling for 90 minutes) and its bottle while cuddling, and then let him finish the last 2 ounces in his crib. I have been removing the bottle right away when hes done (I stay with him).

Thoughts?

[greeneyes]

I think it's about the fact that if a baby is put down with a bottle for the night, they are going a prolonged time without having their teeth brushed. Could you give him the bottle and then swipe his teeth/gums with a wet wash cloth really quick?

[SandKmommy]

If you brush his teeth right after. The main reason they say not to have them sleep with it is because the milk/juice or whatever stays on their teeth while they sleep.

[*krista*]

I didn't know that. Sorry to hijack, but what about if baby has milk in the middle of the night? I doesn't seem to me like it could hurt too much since baby only has those teeth for a few years? (Please excuse my ignorance on this one )

[Alison81]

Working in a preschool I have actually seen a few kids with bottle rot, and it's disgusting. Their teeth are literally black and yellow and rotting away, and usually they need to be removed. Kylie is toothless, but with Elsa, after she finished her bottle I did a quick scrub of her teeth while she was laying down and she was still in that sleep mode. And after seeing it first hand, I will definitely be scrubbing Kylie's teeth after she has her bottle...she does usually have a bottle as she's falling asleep. It also helps Kylie fall asleep, and I don't think it's a problem as long as you wipe his teeth afterwards.

[~Jess~]

Not to mention, if he's drinking his bottle lying down, it can cause ear infections, and I know he has a history of chronic ear infections, so it's probably not a good idea for him anyway.

[Resi]

Originally Posted by *krista*

I didn't know that. Sorry to hijack, but what about if baby has milk in the middle of the night? I doesn't seem to me like it could hurt too much since baby only has those teeth for a few years? (Please excuse my ignorance on this one )

Well.. Oliver's front four teeth are looking bad and it's decay from nursing around the clock at night. I have always brushed his teeth before bed and in the morning. It can happen with breast milk too. Some say it can't but it can because it's happening to Oliver. I didn't have a dentist tell me yet but my pedi said it looked like there was some decay after I asked her to take a look.

It does me no good to wipe his teeth after he is done nursing at night because he is on and off all night long. Plus he wakes right up if I wipe/brush his teeth in his sleep. His isn't that bad yet but there is some discoloring.

[soImarriedAnerd]

Originally Posted by ~Jess~

Not to mention, if he's drinking his bottle lying down, it can cause ear infections, and I know he has a history of chronic ear infections, so it's probably not a good idea for him anyway.

this is what I thought was the main reason for not doing it was, I didn't figure the teeth issues was such a big deal since they lose those anyway! LOL

Originally Posted by Resi

Well.. Oliver's front four teeth are looking bad and it's decay from nursing around the clock at night. I have always brushed his teeth before bed and in the morning. It can happen with breast milk too. Some say it can't but it can because it's happening to Oliver. I didn't have a dentist tell me yet but my pedi said it looked like there was some decay after I asked her to take a look.

It does me no good to wipe his teeth after he is done nursing at night because he is on and off all night long. Plus he wakes right up if I wipe/brush his teeth in his sleep. His isn't that bad yet but there is some discoloring.

Now here I thought BM has stuff in it to NOT rot the teeth (my dentist told me this when I asked about it). She said some discoloration can be from to much fluoride (mainly from public water). But I know others who are told the opposite! LOL another case of I don't think the experts know! LOL

[SandKmommy]

Originally Posted by soImarriedAnerd

this is what I thought was the main reason for not doing it was, I didn't figure the teeth issues was such a big deal since they lose those anyway! LOL


Now here I thought BM has stuff in it to NOT rot the teeth (my dentist told me this when I asked about it). She said some discoloration can be from to much fluoride (mainly from public water). But I know others who are told the opposite! LOL another case of I don't think the experts know! LOL

I dont know the facts or anything but I've been told that if they had/have bottle rot at a young age their more predisposed to having teeth issues as an adult. The way I think of that, is that all the baby teeth don't fall out at once and if they all (or even most) had rot on them they could go to the new teeth coming in.
Plus the bottle rot can cause them to not want to eat depending on how painful it is for them and such.
I never even thought of the ear infection part.

[IamMom]

I stopped giving my kids bottles as close to 12 months as possible...cause I didn't want to deal with any of the bottle issues. My ss lost all his baby teeth to rot (we've never been told exactly why or how but I have my suspicisons).

I would advocate trying to wean him off of it....he's a big boy now! Just my opinion!

[Oriyan]

Thanks ladies

As for the laying down part, he sleeps on a reflux wedge so he is not laying flat Plus in 3.5 more weeks, we should be having zero ear infections for the first time ever This whole laying down and drinking a bottle is a relatively new discovery. He has fallen asleep quickly the 4 or 5 times we have tried it.

The before bed bottle and the 4am bottle are the only bottles left. His midday milk now goes into a sippy (although hes not too crazy about it), and he will drink diluted juice throughout the day (maybe 2oz total). His "reflux" (or whatever he has) is so bad that without milk, he can't fall asleep cause he will cry out in pain Plus we've tried those in a sippy and he is just not having it yet. We decided after his surgery (once hes feeling better) we are gonna ditch the bottles completely (cause frankly, I am tired of cleaning bottles!)

I will just wipe his teeth down after the 7pm bottle - I have not seen any signs of decay yet thankfully (I think he's got my teeth thankfully). He brushes his teeth 2 times a day like a big boy

[Mars]

I was told that as long as they are night sleeping and have had anything other than water in their mouths that after a prolonged period of time (18 months and beyond) there's the possibility of tooth decay. Because of this I began weaning Amara off feedings during the night time around 15 months and I think we were completely done with it within a month or two.

But saying this, it can depend on the strength of the child's teeth/genetics so some persons can go on for years without a problem and others are affected from early on.

My first niece had the baby tooth decay and like Allison said, it's not pretty.

[Oriyan]

I heard the same thing too -- about 18 months is the time you want them off night time bottles. We are hoping that now that we have some answers, and are finally in motion with discovering all his health problems, that we will have an answer for his night time reflux and how to better control it (or control whatever it is that bothers him at night).

[A*LOT*OF*HOPE]

I know I don't post here....but I was spying on Ashley, and since this is my area of expertise I thought I would chime in....hope you all don't mind!!

When you put a baby to bed with a bottle with anything but water in it, the sugar will sit on there teeth all night. Or in Resi's case if a baby is nursing all night long this can happen as well. You should actually brush his teeth before bed and then give him nothing, even wiping his teeth after is not always good enough.

Yes they are baby teeth and yes they will fall out, but some not until they are 10 years old or so. Once a tooth gets a cavity NOTHING you do can make it go away. You can stop it from getting worse, but never reverse it. So, if your 1 year old gets a cavity on there 2 front teeth, they will have those teeth for 5 more years or so. Nerves of baby teeth are very big, and decay can go to the nerve of the tooth, MUCH faster than an adult. They can get an infection and if that happens the tooth will need to be pulled in lots of cases. I see this everyday. We see 1 year olds all the time with very bad baby bottle decay, it is very sad.

Resi, I couldnt help but question the reason your Dr though it was fluoride that discolored Olivers teeth. Yes fluoride can discolor your teeth, but it only does that if you have to much of it while your teeth are developing. That doesn't look brown though, it will be kinda white and chalky usually!!

We teach parents the lift the lip technique, which is just like it says. You lift the babies front lip every month or so and look for discoloration. It usually starts to happen at the gum line.

Sorry that this turned so long...LOL

[Mjp121212]

They do lose those teeth, BUT the decay can reach far into the gums and even damage the perm teeth. Brayden always nursed around the clock too, but we never had an issue with his teeth. I have no advice on this one, sorry.

[Adriana's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Mars

But saying this, it can depend on the strength of the child's teeth/genetics so some persons can go on for years without a problem and others are affected from early on.

I agree with this.. My daughter never had a bottle in bed, but I did feed her before she went to bed and I didn't wipe her teeth.. She was off the bottle before she was a year old. She has white teeth and is on fluoride..

Originally Posted by soImarriedAnerd

Now here I thought BM has stuff in it to NOT rot the teeth (my dentist told me this when I asked about it). She said some discoloration can be from to much fluoride (mainly from public water). But I know others who are told the opposite! LOL another case of I don't think the experts know! LOL

I would think the same thing too, but BM has natural sugars in it.. So it makes sense that it could cause tooth decay, depending on the child..

I found this article, which explains what happens.. I assume BM still falls into the catgory of milk..

When a baby falls asleep, the production of saliva decreases significantly. If a baby is given milk, juice or other sugary liquid and is then put to bed without brushing, the sugar in these liquids along with the bacteria that is naturally present in a baby’s mouth join together to form an acid, which starts attacking and decaying the teeth.

Your Baby’s Teeth (Brushing, Preventing Decay & More) – The New Parents Guide

[*krista*]

What if you follow milk up with feeding a bit of water? Will that wash it away enough?

[ANGWife]

My doc and dentist have told me that as long as the milk doesn't sit on his teeth. So if you give a bottle so close to bedtime, then teeth should be brushed.

[Angelaosaurus-rex]

Originally Posted by A*LOT*OF*HOPE

I know I don't post here....but I was spying on Ashley, and since this is my area of expertise I thought I would chime in....hope you all don't mind!!

When you put a baby to bed with a bottle with anything but water in it, the sugar will sit on there teeth all night. Or in Resi's case if a baby is nursing all night long this can happen as well. You should actually brush his teeth before bed and then give him nothing, even wiping his teeth after is not always good enough.

Yes they are baby teeth and yes they will fall out, but some not until they are 10 years old or so. Once a tooth gets a cavity NOTHING you do can make it go away. You can stop it from getting worse, but never reverse it. So, if your 1 year old gets a cavity on there 2 front teeth, they will have those teeth for 5 more years or so. Nerves of baby teeth are very big, and decay can go to the nerve of the tooth, MUCH faster than an adult. They can get an infection and if that happens the tooth will need to be pulled in lots of cases. I see this everyday. We see 1 year olds all the time with very bad baby bottle decay, it is very sad.

Resi, I couldnt help but question the reason your Dr though it was fluoride that discolored Olivers teeth. Yes fluoride can discolor your teeth, but it only does that if you have to much of it while your teeth are developing. That doesn't look brown though, it will be kinda white and chalky usually!!

We teach parents the lift the lip technique, which is just like it says. You lift the babies front lip every month or so and look for discoloration. It usually starts to happen at the gum line.

Sorry that this turned so long...LOL

This is so OT from the thread lol but Landen has a nit of yellow on the tooth next to his front tooth . Do you think I should be worried about it?

[A*LOT*OF*HOPE]

Angela, It really depends. If it is just some staining, I wouldn't really worry about it. I would keep the area really clean and keep an eye on it. If it does get bigger or starts to change color, I would take him in!! That being said, he is at the age where he should start seeing the dentist every 6 months anyways Bring him to Washington to see me........