Nursing Bottle Caries | Overview
Nursing Bottle Caries | Symptoms and Causes
In-Depth
Is my infant at risk?
Nursing bottle caries usually affects children between the ages of 1 and 2. If your infant falls asleep while breastfeeding, he is also at risk.
What are the symptoms of nursing caries?
The following are the most common symptoms of nursing caries. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- white spots on the teeth
- early development of cavities (brown areas on the tooth that lead to tooth destruction)
How can I prevent nursing caries?
The following are suggestions to help prevent your child from developing nursing caries:
- Don't allow your child to go to bed with a bottle filled with anything but water.
- Wean your child from the bottle in a timely manner.
- Begin good early mouth care of the gums and teeth.
- Give fluoride supplementation, as recommended by your child's physician.
- Begin dental visits for your child at age 1.
