Bottles at nap and night..(please dont attack me, thanks)

Since about 10 months the boys always take solice in getting mile before bed...They always finish the bottle before sleeping (I.E its never sitting in thier mout pooling)...its always on the floor, etc before bedtime actually comes. I have had MANY people attack me for doing this...but as lots of moms know, we sometimes do things that might not be recommended for the happieness of our kids...pacis, and bottles...etc.

I brush thier teeth daily, and from what I can see have healthy teeth. I want to get the a check up and cleaning, but a friend dentist of mine said 3 is more of a better age to do it.

Has anyone had issues with taking the botts away at night...and seeing a dentist before 3?

THanks!

 

I won't attack!

I cannot speak to the bottle issue (other than the fact that I have many students whose teeth are rotted because of the bottle), but I can address the dentist issue.

Most regular dentists recommend a visit starting around 3. My friend is a dentist and he recommends the same thing. But, most pediatric dentists recommend a visit much earlier. We took Ben to a pediatric dentist at 19 mos because he has two baby teeth that are fused together. The dentist took a look at them and then cleaned them (scraping off the tartar). He recommended we bring Hannah in when she got more teeth (at the time she only had four). We will bring them both in again in another month.

And, my pedi dentist (who is the former pres of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) said pacifiers are fine while they have their baby teeth. He said we could get rid of them when we wanted to, but that we don't have to get rid of them soley because of their teeth/bite.

 

If they finish it before bedtime, do you brush their teeth after they finish it? If so, I don't think it would be harmful to their teeth to still get one at night, although they probably don't *need* the bottle as long as they had a good dinner and drank their milk with dinner. If they're not getting their teeth brushed after finishing the bottle it could definitely cause problems and will only get worse the longer it goes on. I would just make sure to brush their teeth after the bottle/before bed. Could you change their routine to wean them off the bottle. Maybe incorporate water with brushing teeth or something like that? Mine never had bottles after 3 months when I was pumping, so I don't have any great advice, sorry!

As for the dentist, I took mine to their first dentist visit at 2 and had their teeth cleaned and painted with fluoride. We go back every 6 months.

HTH

 

i think if you see a dentist before three that the dentist will get bitten! not intentionally but just a normal reaction. only if you see some decalcification on their teeth should you worry about cavities. I wouldn't worry about baby bottle teeth syndrome unless they are constantly having milk/juice in the bottle and constantly drinking it and never getting their mouth cleaned. that's when you end up with black teeth.

 

Mandy, if you are brushing their teeth after they have the milk before bed I would say you are golden! Should be an issue at all. If you aren't, maybe you could give them a little water after the milk to make sure they are at least rinsing a little.

 

Mandy, can you try giving them the bottle before they get in their cribs? That way you can kill 2 birds with one stone, break them of needing a bottle right before bed, and have less of a chance of them having residual milk in their mouths.

Even if you think there isn't any in there, unless you are actively checking their mouths, there probably is some. What happens is that the saliva in the mouth breaks the formula/milk down into sugar, and that is what corrodes their teeth.

As for seeing a dentist before 3, my uncle who is a dentist, doesn't recommend going before 3. My guys go to my dentist, and we went for the first time on their 3rd birthday--just worked out that way--even then, for Jon, they were barely able to count his teeth. The local pediadontist, also doesn't recommend before age 3, unless there is a noticable problem. BTW, he just did root canals on my friends son--he just turned 2, because of going to sleep with a bottle. On the up side, since Cody had his teeth fixed he has been sleeping through the night for the first time in his life!

 

My FIL is an orthodontist and he told us that they do not need to go until they are three.

 

Do you mean they get a bottle during the bedtime routine, and it is gone before you put them in the cribs? If so, I do the same thing but with sippies. They get a cup of warm milk (not much, maybe 4 oz) about an hour before bed, it's gone 15 min before going to bed, and I brush their teeth afterwards. If you are looking to get rid of bottles, I would try switching to a sippy. Just make sure their teeth are brushed before bed and they should be fine.