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Nursing
bottle syndrome is a type of dental caries characterized
by suddenly appearing, rapidly burrowing type of decay
resulting in early involvement of core of the teeth. It
occurs in children, generally under the age of 3 who are put
to bed with a baby bottle filled, usually with fruit juice
or sweetened milk. The child falls asleep, and the milk
becomes pooled around the teeth. This carbohydrate
containing liquid provides for an excellent culture medium
for microorganisms to feed and grow. The flow of saliva is
also decreased during sleep and clearance of fluids from the
mouth is slow. The pattern is severe decay of the front top
teeth. The lower front teeth are usually not affected. If
the bottle contained only water, the teeth would not be
affected.
It is recommended that to prevent the problem, the infant
should be held during feeding. The child who falls asleep
during feeding should be burped and then placed in bed. In
addition, the parent should start brushing the child's teeth
as soon as they erupt and should discontinue nursing as soon
as the child can drink from the cup.
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