Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

I listed two websites that offer good information. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Remember, these are only temporary teeth and while no one wants their children to develop cavities, the comfort you are providing him at night outweighs the chances that he might get a caries or two. From what I was reading, most children get a cavity or two before their adult teeth come in anyway whether nighttime feedings happened or not.
In regards to your friend...Dentists can be quick to point out and blame nighttime feeding for cavities but I think that the information listed said only 14% of nighttime feeders get cavities that way. So just because they said that doesn't make it true necessarily. Just keep on lovin him the way you do, start dental care for him if you haven't...like wiping his mouth out with a damp cloth around your finger after feedings and relax... but do check out these sites cause they are both a good read. good luck!
-N.

http://www.babyreference.com/CavitiesBreastfedBottlefed.html

(this one is from the Dr. Sears website. It is addressing nighttime nursing, but I think the advice is good for formula feeding as well)

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/bf3.asp

baby bottle tooth decay is more from giving a child a bottle or sippy cup at night as a soul means of comfort. then the child will sleep with the bottle/cup in thier mouth . The contents then tay on the teeth all night. if you let them have thier cup or milk then remove it from them before they go back to sleep thier natural saliva will remove most of that stuff suffeciently enough to remove the major concerns of baby bottle tooth decay.

It is not the giving them a cup /bottle that is the problem it is the failure to take it back after they are done or falling back to sleep.

and as to wether or not it matters in the long run because they are "temporary teeth" it definetly does. Have you ever had a rotten tooth. It is very painful. My nephew slept on the breast all night long and as a result he lost 8 of his baby teeth to this condition. it was very very painful and when the teeth wer removed the dentist informed my sister that this can lead to misalignment in the future and sure enough that baby is 13 now and has braces because his teeth are so messed up and out of alignment. The baby teeth hold the spot for the adult teeth to grow in properly.

I wouldn't recommend giving him water, it's a filler that lacks the nutrients babies need. Baby bottle tooth decay is caused by letting them sleep with a bottle. So as long as you are taking it away when he sleeps you shouldn't need to worry. If you are really concerned mabye bring in a damp washcloth to wipe out his mouth when you are done feeding him at night.

Giving him the bottle of formula/milk is fine - The Formula/Milk has the nutrients that your baby needs and is helping the bones and teeth. Just like what the other mothers are talking about. Go in give him his bottle, then when he is done, take it away. The bacteria grows on the bottle as it sits out (it's kinda gross just thinking about it)I mean have you seen what the bottles do when you don't wash them out right away?....and then he keeps putting in his mouth. The bottle is for feeding not for comfort more or less. But I wouldn't worry about the tooth decay. Unless you have family history of bad teeth. But as for the whole bottle thing at night.....you are fine. Just don't let him have it to hold the whole night. I hope this helps. You are doing everything you should be.

I feed my son milk in the middle of the night too. its defidently a comfort thing. He doesn't have cavities because i brush his teeth with floride toothpaste before bed and we dont really drink pop its just watered down juice. i dont see the problem with feeding him milk or formula in the night because my son is slowly growing out of it. He sleeps all the way through most nights. Its the juice you give your son that gives him cavities and not brushing his teeth. You could try watering down the milk or formula but you will get resistance but it only lasts a little while.
p.s. i'm a stay at home mom too with a two year old. Ya know the funny thing is my husband has juice in the middle of the night and he doesn't have cavities so maybe its hereditary haha.

do you mean that you give him a bottle in the middle of the night and then go back to bed leaving the bottle in his mouth? It's the leaving the bottle in the mouth that causes the tooth decay. And there must be teeth in the mouth (not the gums). It doesn't matter what time of day or night this happens. The decay is caused by the milk staying on their teeth. If they don't have the bottle in their mouth saliva washes off the teeth.

In my experience tooth decay as the result of using a bottle usually occurred when the baby had a bottle in his mouth often both day and night without the opportunity to allow the saliva to rinse off the milk once the bottle is finished.

I also suspect that heredity has something to do with it. My parents and I all had/have thin or weak enamel. My mouth is full of fillings. My baby teeth didn't decay but my adult teeth sure did in spite of my parents and later myself paying attention to dental hygiene.

Not all babies get tooth decay even when they are left with a bottle during the night. Both of my grandchildren had formula and then milk in a bottle left with them during the night and at nap time. It may be that they dropped the bottle and also produce a lot of saliva. They are 4 and 7 and the dentist reports that they have excellent teeth; no tooth decay.

You can spot tooth decay when it begins because the tooth will have a tan or brownish spot on it. Bottle mouth is a possibility but if you're keeping an eye on his teeth and are sure to provide water during the day so that his teeth get rinsed I think having a bottle in the middle of the night won't hurt at this age.

You could try giving him water in his bottle at night but also once or twice in the daytime so that water becomes part of the bottle routine. My daughter switched her kids to water at night once they had several teeth. Both of them accepted it without a fuss. I think the bottle was a comfort thing for them. It didn't matter what was in it.

IMO I think 10 mos is still young to worry about that, let him have his milk. Keep up a routine about brushing teeth morning and night. By 12-15 mos he shouldn't "need" the milk at night. You could start adding water to the milk slowly like once a week add more water Till he either doesn't want the milk or is just happy w/ water. I'm not sure they will seal baby teeth, but if you have a family history of soft teeth or tooth decay, then maybe that might be a good idea when he cuts his molars.
My husband has very soft teeth and has struggled w/ tooth decay all his life.
It is good to be concerned about it, but he is still young yet.

Try gradually diluting the formula until he's finally drinking just water. At his age he should be able to get through the night without taking in calories.

Make sure the water is the same temperature if you go with that. Yes it is probably more for comfort. Do you take the bottles away? You need to. Give him a binki at night if he really needs the comfort. I breast fed but, the last feeding before I wanted to sleep say 10pm I would give my daughter formula with a little baby cereal in it. This takes longer to digest and I would get to sleep though the night. It also insured she would take a bottle or sippy cup when she stopped breast feeding. Do you brush your baby's teeth or gums? Brushing helps. My daughter has no cavities and she is 5 1/2. Hope this helps.

Hi R.... I have only heard that tooth decay can be caused by babies having a bottle in the bed with them because they usually fall asleep in bed while drinking their milk. The milk sits in the baby's mouth which can cause problems with teeth because of the sugar in the milk. However, I don't think that having a feeding from you (or other care giver) in the middle of the night will be a problem since they are able to finish what they want before you put him back to bed. Your son should probably be outgrowing this habit though of waking up for a feeding especially after he starts eating more and will stay fuller through the night. Do you give him a bottle before you put him to bed? This usually helps. I hope this advice helps you. Good luck!

Hello there I had this problem w/ my little one. She didn't really drink the bottle just wanted it in her mouth over night. Water didn't work either. She also ended up with cavities that had to be filled and also replaced with silver crowns at the age of 3. Not good at all. Try using a flavored sugar-free water until you can ween him off all together. As soon as he's asleep take it away if possible or just go cold turkey. The first couple nights will be tough but in the end it's worth it..... Especially depending on what teeth are affected, if they are molars then he's stuck with fillings or crowns for years...