Milk at Bedtime & Tooth Decay
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Milk at Bedtime & Tooth Decay
Oct 2006
Our son is 25 months old. We just got him off the night-time
bottle, at the very strong suggestion of our doctor, who
suggested tooth decay could be an issue if we didn't stop. My
wife has now swapped the bottle for a sippy cup with milk
instead. To me, i see no difference between this and a bottle.
Anyone with experience in this realm? I'm concerned about my
son's teeth, but my wife insists its not an issue. THoughts?
Tim
We have been giving our two boys (4 and 2) a sippy cup with
milk in it before bed for while. What we have done however is
water it down so they get ''water-milk''. There have been days
that we've given them just water as we explained to them we ran
out of milk and they were fine with that too after a little
explaining. In general, what we've been doing most recently is
giving them their milk and reading a story, then brushing teeth
right before ''lights-out'' and this has been working well. They
then may have a sippy cup of ice water if they are thirsty
during the night. It just takes some ''re-training'', but they'll
get it. Having all that sugar sit in your teeth during the
night is not a good idea.
anon
My 2.5 year old gets milk in a sippy cup at bedtime but I brush
his teeth right afterwards. As far as tooth decay goes, there
would be no difference between a sippy cup and a bottle, milk on
the teeth all night will probably lead to decay.
I'd suggest incorporating toothbrushing into the night time
ritual. You've got to start some time, might as well do it now.
Also, 2 years old is old enough to go to the dentist, we found a
good pediatric dentist who has all sorts of tricks for getting
into our son's mouth to clean his teeth. And he had no cavities!
My understanding from my ped. dentist is that any milk before bedtime
(breastmilk,
too, so you have to be diligent to rinse the baby's mouth with water) will
destroy
tooth enamel--the sugars in milk, which cause tooth decay, are still
sugars despite
the vehicle of delivery.
My dear friend's daughter, when she was 3 (now 8), had 7 cavities, from
drinking
regular milk and breastmilk before bedtime and had to have the cavities
taken care
of under general anaesthesia. Traumatic for the mother and the child.
So, yes, it's a problem.
Why not solve the arguement with input from a ped. dentist?
Good luck
My understanding from my ped. dentist is that any milk before bedtime
(breastmilk,
too, so you have to be diligent to rinse the baby's mouth with water) will
destroy
tooth enamel--the sugars in milk, which cause tooth decay, are still
sugars despite
the vehicle of delivery.
My dear friend's daughter, when she was 3 (now 8), had 7 cavities, from
drinking
regular milk and breastmilk before bedtime and had to have the cavities
taken care
of under general anaesthesia. Traumatic for the mother and the child.
So, yes, it's a problem.
Why not solve the arguement with input from a ped. dentist?
Good luck
I'm not sure if you are talking about having milk before going
to sleep or having the sippy cup there during the night if the
kid wakes up thirsty. Our son co-sleeps with us and we bring a
sippy cup of water with us to bed and he often wakes up once a
night to ask for a drink and he is very happy with water. To go
to sleep, months ago we switched to letting him suck on our
finger rather than a bottle. Won't hurt his teeth.
Hope this helps
If your son isn't brushing his teeth after the milk, be it in a
bottle or sippy cup, it's going to cause tooth decay. No if
ands or buts. At two years old you should start taking him to a
pediatric dentist, and he/she can put a quick end to you and
your wife's disagreement.
Switch to water at night. It will be hard at first, but
remember you're the grownups and you're doing it for his own
good.
anon
I have been in the same boat! Our 2 1/2 yr old has been going
to bed with his bottle and I knew deep in my heart that this
was horrible for his teeth. He loves his bottle, though, and I
just kept giving in.
Then suddenly last week he wasn't feeling well and was throwing
up. The milk in his bottle irritated his stomach and made him
throw up even more. So we replaced the milk in his bottle with
water and told him that this would help his tummy. The next day
he was ''dying'' for milk in his bottle and I told him that I
needed to ask the doctor first. So I pretended that I called
the doctor and that the doctor told me that he couldn't have
milk. He bought it! I can't believe it, but I finally have him
off the milk. He's still drinking a bottle and my next step
will be to replace that with a sippy-cup.
So my solution pretty much fell in our lap and we ran with it.
And you are correct: the milk is what is killing his teeth.
JOJ
Your wife may be confused about two issues.
1) bottles too old -- jaw/tooth malformation
2) drinking in bed -- tooth decay
The decay issue has to do with sugars pooling in the mouth if a
drowsy child sips and sleeps without full swallows and rinsing
with water. so a sippy is 100% as bad in that area. Switch to
water (make it gradual if baby resists)
a mom
I think you're right. The issue is over drinking milk before
bedtime, not what your child drinks out of. Does your toddler
brush his teeth yet? Maybe you could introduce that after he
finishes his milk, therefore eliminating the concern? Or is the
bottle/sippy cup actually going to bed with him? If that's the
case it may be more of a comfort item and why your wife doesn't
wish to stop the process....if so, try putting water in it
instead. Either way, your child shouldn't be going to bed with
any drink that can leave sugar on your childs teeth. Maybe your
wife should speak to the pediatrician again to clarify this
Agree with you
The main problem with milk and the teeth is that kids with bottles use
them as a
sort of pacifier, sucking for long and/or frequent times on the
sugar-laden nipples
(lactose is the milk sugar). The rule should be that your toddler uses
the cup to
drink milk ALL AT ONE TIME, then gives it up. Two-year-olds do not need
to be fed
during the night; in fact, if they are, it interrupts everyone's schedule
as well as their
intake of appropriate nutrients during the day.
If your toddler NEEDS something to suck on (emotionally), then give
him/her a cup
of water, which won't mess with the teeth or the appetite. My experience
is that
toddlers usually reject the water (hmmm, they don't really need it after
all!) and
everyone gets more/better sleep
a pediatrician
The problem with tooth decay is the milk itself, not the bottle. Milk
contains lactose,
which is a natural sugar. Switching to a sippycup will not help the tooth
decay risk.
What I've done with my own 3 kids is switch to water for the last sippy
cup of the day.
If your child won't drink it at first, slowly start watering down the
milk, a little more
water each day, till the last cup of the day is pure water.
Heidi
It's very nearly the same thing. Try subbing a small bit of water into the milk. Every
2-3 nights add more water and less milk until the sippy cup is all water. Most kids
won't be so interested in sipping on water for very long, and if he is, there's no tooth
decay issue
Paula
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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