Bottles & Bottle Rot

Goodnight, bottle.

Baby bottle tooth decay (or bottle rot) is one of the most common and serious forms of decay among kids. It’s often caused by long exposures of an infant’s teeth to liquids containing sugar — juice and sweetened beverages, formula, even breast milk.

We encourage moms not to put their child down for a nap with a bottle filled with anything other than water to help reduce the risk of serious and rapid decay. Sweet liquids can pool around the child’s teeth, which gives the acids the opportunity to attack tooth enamel. If you’re child’s really attached to that certain “comfort” beverage, try to dilute it with water over time until you can phase it out completely.