By Alan Mozes
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters Health) -- Infants and young children who
routinely fall asleep with a bottle in their mouth are at high risk for
"baby-bottle mouth" -- a condition in which their newly emerging teeth rapidly
become decayed.
Now, a new report suggests that breastfeeding and a genetic resistance to
tooth decay may help protect against the condition, known medically as early
childhood caries (ECC).
"ECC is generally considered a significant and devastating disease in a
child, and it targets the individual for decay throughout their life," said Dr.
Mary Hayes, a pediatric dentist and spokesperson for the American Dental
Association.
Sleeping with a bottle leads to rapid decay because saliva flow and
swallowing slows down, leaving teeth bathed in a cavity-promoting sugary
solution. The condition may result when any type of liquid other than water
comes into contact with the teeth for an extended period of time.
The new study included 260 children aged 3 to 5 who lived in Greece. The
researchers, led by Dr. Constantine Oulis, of the University of Athens, divided
the youngsters into two groups: those who had already developed multiple
cavities and those who had no more than one.
They found that both groups of children used bottles to the same degree,
and that children who fell asleep with the bottle were much more likely to
develop cavities than those who did not.
However, some children did not develop cavities even when they "misused"
the bottle. This led the investigators to conclude that some biological factor
may increase the individual's resistance to dental disease.
Additionally, the researchers found that those children who did not have
cavities used a bottle for about 33 months -- roughly 4 months shorter than
those who did develop cavities. Children who were breast-fed for over 40 days
were also less likely to develop cavities than those who were breast-fed for
shorter periods of time.
The researchers speculate that breastmilk may contain some factors, such
as antibodies, that can inhibit S. mutans, the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
The best way to prevent baby-bottle mouth is to avoid putting a baby to
bed with a bottle, said Hayes in an interview with Reuters Health.
"What I usually tell mothers is that the best dentistry is preventative.
If they're nursing their children, especially after age 1, they have to make
sure that their child does not go to sleep with their bottle, and that they do
not put sweetened beverages in the bottle, and that they do wean them as their
pediatrician suggests," she said.
"Leaving a child down with a bottle is often a convenience," she
acknowledged. "But it's like taking part in a lottery that you don't want to
win."
She also recommends that parents "brush their (children's) teeth when the
teeth first appear -- to wait until age 3 is too late."
