
25. Giving Babies Bottles at Night
If you have an infant or toddler, you may be tempted to give your child a bottle to go to bed with. The sucking can be soothing and help the child fall asleep, and a bottle can be a comfort object. But this can actually set your baby up for early teeth decay, as the sugars in formula, juice, or milk can bathe his or her teeth in sugar overnight. After you have brushed your child’s teeth for the night, doctors advise no more bottles. They should never be in the crib, and not only for the sake of your child’s teeth. Falling asleep while drinking can increase the risk of aspirating, causing your child to stop breathing. On that note, while sucking can be very soothing for babies, too much sucking is bad for their teeth. The teeth can grow in deformed, causing significant problems.