To give your child a good oral health foundation, you will need to protect them from the hazards of dental caries early on. In fact, it is recommended that children see a dentist sometime between the eruption of their first tooth to their first birthday. Unfortunately, dentists have been seeing more and more children, including toddlers, with cavities.
How can this happen? Continuous exposure to sugary drinks through sippy cups seems to be a major culprit. This is because these training cups were originally designed to help parents transition their toddlers from using bottles and switching to cups. While sippy cups weren’t meant to be used for months (or years) at a time, many parents are letting this happen. We understand the appeal of convenience, but it is also allowing your little one’s developing chompers to constantly bathe in sugar, such as fruit juice.
There are advantages of teaching your child to switch from a bottle to a cup, so the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry suggests the following to protect your toddler’s smile through proper use:
– Don’t be tempted to let your toddler use sippy cups once they are ready to hold a cup.
– It is perfectly fine to give your child juice and milk in a sippy cup during mealtimes, otherwise, fill it with water for them to drink throughout the day.
– At naptime or bedtime, only give your toddler the cup with water in it.
Sippy cups are wonderful parent’s helpers when they are used properly. For more information on oral care for your child, or to schedule a dental checkup with our dentist, Dr. Marcia Greene, please call 718-273-8686 today. Our Bayview Dental Care team in Staten Island, New York, looks forward to helping you establish healthy habits for your child from the very beginning!