Nursing Bottle Caries or Early Childhood Caries
Nursing Bottle Caries or Early Childhood Caries: Sometimes we see the front black teeth of a kid. We saw it start with one or two teeth and eventually spread to 5-7 teeth. That is none other than nursing bottle caries, baby bottle caries, night bottle caries, or early childhood caries.
It usually affects children between 6 months and 71 months of age. These kinds of caries have a specific pattern. Usually, a white line appears at the gingival margin of the tooth, and suddenly the tooth becomes black and wears off. Usually, maxillary central incisors are affected first, then maxillary lateral incisors, and maxillary molars, followed by maxillary canines, and mandibular molars. Mandibular incisors are spared because of protection from the tongue and self-cleansing action of saliva as salivary glands open here.
Causes of Nursing Bottle Caries:
As the name suggests, its main cause is bottle feeding, which includes milk or any other sweetened drink or juice during nap time or at night while sleeping. Oral flora attached to the sugar content stuck on the tooth surface and produced acid as a by-product, which causes tooth decay.
Prevention of Nursing Bottle Caries:
For prevention of these kinds of caries, immediately stop the habit of bottle feeding. If a child wants to go to bed with a bottle, it contains none other than water.
Maintain the oral hygiene of the child; brush twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste.
Do visit the dentist after the age of one year, as many preventive measures are available, like fluoride application, which prevents tooth decay.
Treatment of Nursing Bottle Caries:
Do visit the dentist so that whatever needed treatment can be done. It may include the removal of the decayed part of the tooth followed by a tooth-colored filling; some teeth may require RCT, pulpotomy, or pulpectomy depending on severity. Sometimes only fluoride treatment is needed.
All kinds of preventive dental treatment and curative dental treatment are available at Dr. Renu Dental Clinic, Nirman Nagar, Jaipur. Dr. Renu Chaudhary carries the experience of more than 12 years in kids’ dentistry and general dentistry and is available full-time to take care of your kid’s oral health.
For more information, visit Dr. Renu Dental Clinic, Nirman Nagar, Jaipur, or visit our website at www.drrenudentalclinic.com. For an appointment call +91 9650935061