Berkeley Parents Network: Milk at Bedtime & Tooth Decay

Berkeley Parents Network

Milk at Bedtime & Tooth Decay

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Advice about Health > Milk at Bedtime & Tooth Decay

Bedtime sippy of milk = tooth decay?

June 2003

Our 21 month old has what I would call ''sour'' smelling breath after naps and upon waking in the middle of the night or in the morning. This may be perfectly normal, but I have a feeling it isn't. I'm worried that it is a signal of tooth decay...can toddlers this young even have tooth decay?

We have a very consistent tooth brushing regime every night, but we just started it about 6 weeks ago. We also do something that I think is counterintuitive in our bed time routine. That is *after* we brush teeth/change into jammies/read a couple books, we rock in the rocking chair and I sing to her while she drinks a milk sippy...

I have a feeling the pre-bed milk sippy has a lot to do with the breath, and it can't be a sound practice for the future. However, she is not a good eater at all, but has managed not to waste away by taking in a lot of protien, etc. via the milk at these pre-bed times. We have and continue to work at getting her to eat better suppers and lunches and lots of healthy snacks, but she remains relatively uninterested in most foods. She is allowed to have tiny bits of sweets, and in fact after two or three bites loses interest in these too (I'm not going to complain about that!). Also, don't most kids this age still have a night time sippy or bottle? She's a very determined and opinionated child already, and I can't imagine she'll submit to having a pediatric dentist take a look. So I'd rather hear from others who may have experienced bad breath in their very young kids to have a sense of whether we should go that probably very traumatic route of checking for tooth decay. want to do the right thing

I don't think sour breath is necessarily a sign of toddler tooth decay. My daughter also has sour breath after sleeping. She also sometimes has milk before bed after brushing her teeth. She is 3 years old and just had her first dentist appointment. The dentist said her teeth are fine and that as long as one practices basic dental care the condition of one's teeth is mainly genetic. anon

i don't have advice about the tooth decay itself, but i do about the dentist: go ahead and take her to a pediatric dentist. we really enjoy our visits to ''dr. bob,'' robert khalil, at 906 ensenada (528-1546). we talked a bit to our 3 yo before we went, about what the dentist would do, and she got to sit on my lap in the chair--i was concerned that she wouldn't open her mouth, but it all went very well! i know your child is younger than mine was on her first visit, but i wouldn't worry about her behavior there--better to try and have her not open her mouth than to let possible tooth problems go undetected... my two cents! jessica

If you change the bedtime routine a bit- we do bottle/sippy while we read then pjs and brush teeth- you'll have less sour breath. Also, having only started brushing recently she might have tartar build up on her teeth. Our daughter did. Her 1st dentist appt at 2ish required a little scraping of it off of her front teeth. If you go to the right pediatric dentist (ours has a dog in her office which greatly pleased our daughter) it might not be as traumatic as you think. Especially since it's such a big girl thing to do. And she'll probably get her choice of chocolate or bublle gum flouride treatment and to pick a prize at the end. good luck another mom

In addition to brushing, make sure you floss. Also, do not underestimate the pediatric dentists. If the first one you go to can't handle your offspring, find another. Ento

I have no idea whether her sour breath means she's already got tooth decay, but your intuition is correct: A sippy cup of milk after tooth brushing is a very bad idea. To avoid tooth decay, you need to start cleaning a baby's teeth as soon as they come in, and the baby shouldn't eat ANYTHING, with the possible exception of breastmilk, between tooth brushing time and bedtime.

I say the possible exception of breastmilk because it's been shown that its natural antibacterial properties mean breastmilk does not cause tooth decay. However, if there is other food present on the teeth, the sugars in the breastmilk can attach to it and add to the mess as it were. So a bedtime nursing session is probably all right ONLY if you've done a very good job of toothbrushing beforehand.

Cows' milk has no such protections and shouldn't be given at bedtime -- although you are quite right that many toddlers are given it, simply because their parents choose the short-term benefit of getting them to sleep over the longer-term risk of dental problems. A sippy cup is a better choice than a bottle, certainly, but I expect the first time you do take your daughter to the dentist, you're going to hear that you ought to eliminate it.

Genetics has a lot to do with whether and when anyone will have cavities, also. Your daughter may just be lucky -- or not. Try simply giving her the sippy cup of milk BEFORE you brush her teeth. Afterwards, a fresh sippy of water is fine. (My son uses one of those ''Sipp'n Sav'r'' bottles with a straw.) Holly

You sound content for your daughter to have some milk before going to sleep, and so the simple solution is to brush her teeth afterward. Explain to her that you need to make this change. She won't understand completely, but she'll get the idea. I know you don't want to ruin the mood (i.e., don't want to go from cuddling in a dark room to the cold, bright bathroom to brush teeth), so why not try having the toothbrush already in her room, and then brush her teeth in your lap while you sing a lullaby?

That said, I'll add that I really do think she will get the calories, etc. she needs at other times of day if she no longer has the sippy at night and naptime. They get what they need as long as you make it available to them. Like I said, it sounds like you're happy with the current situation (vis a vis the sippy, that is) so I wouldn't change it -- but I wouldn't kid yourself that it's essential to her growth, etc. either. Good luck!

Have you tried (gently) switching the bedtime sippy to water? We did it while our twins were still taking bottles, but I imagine you could use a similar technique with cups. Water down the bottle (or cup) slowly (an ounce more water and less milk each night) until its just water. Try giving milk after meals instead. Our kids now take sippy cups of water to bed with them (after they have brushed their teeth). Good luck! Debbie

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