How many cavities can a Baby Bottle cause?

Yesterday, Dr Lim saw a 3 year old patient who goes to sleep every day sucking his baby bottle.

Mum and dad brought him in to "manage his decay" because they saw many holes in his front teeth when he smiled. This condition is known as baby bottle syndrome.

Dr Lim found that 13 of his teeth had decay on them, with each tooth having two cavities for a total of 26 holes! One of the teeth even had the decay spread into the root of the pulp chamber. In order to spare the child of the psychological trauma of multiple visits to the dentist to have the teeth treated, his parents are contemplating having all the treatment done under a single general anaesthesia procedure.

To prevent nursing bottle cavities, parents can do the following:

• do not leave a bottle in a child's mouth when he or she is asleep.


• begin cleaning your child's teeth as soon as they come into the mouth with a toothbrush or a wet cloth.


• bring him to see the dentist by his first birthday.

Save your child from the unnecessary pain of baby bottle syndrome.