Baby Teeth and Feeding

• Breastfeeding

  Breastfeeding for the first year of life has been shown to decrease the risk of tooth decay.

  Breastfeeding has a positive effect on the development of the jaw and the gums.

  Breastfed children are less likely to have crooked teeth when they are older.

• Bottle Feeding

  If you are bottle feeding your baby you need to take care as there is an increased risk of decay to the front teeth. This is because drinking from a bottle allows the sugars, natural or otherwise, to pool around the teeth.

  To reduce the risk of tooth decay;

  • Wipe your baby’s gums after feeds. You can use a piece of clean gauze dipped in cooled boiled water.
  • Clean the teeth twice daily using a smear of fluoride toothpaste the size of a grain of rice.
  • Do not let your baby fall asleep whilst feeding or leave a bottle for them in the cot. Allow time to clean teeth and gums before bed.
  • Try offering water in the night to an older baby.
  • Never give sugary drinks by bottle including cold and hot drinks like tea, hot chocolate, fizzy drinks or squash. Even those labelled 'no added sugar'.
  • Get your child used to drinking from an open cup from about six months of age.
  • Provide all of your baby’s drinks in an open top or valve free cup by one year of age.
  • Take your child to the dentist by one year of age and visit as often as the dentist recommends.

  Remember - as your child gets older, milk is a tooth friendly drink during the day, water is tooth friendly at any time.

• Introducing Solid Foods

  Weaning at 6 months is usually the same time as first teeth begin to show. This is a good time to think about a tooth friendly diet.

  • Give fresh fruit and vegetable finger foods.
  • Savoury snacks are a better choice. This includes bread sticks, oatcakes, toast fingers or cheese.
  • Never add sugar to weaning foods.
  • Give any sweeter foods and drinks at mealtimes, not as snacks.
  • Be aware that pureed fruit can increase the risk of tooth decay, so offer this at mealtimes.
  • Avoid giving your child fruit juices, cordials and squash, including those labelled 'no added sugar'.
  • Don’t let babies sleep with a bottle or sippy cup. 
  • Switch to an open top cup or a non-valve beaker from six months rather than a bottle.
  • Choose sugar-free medicines where possible.

• Dummies

  Some babies get a lot of comfort from sucking on a dummy. It is advised that babies only use a dummy until they are one year old. Using a dummy for longer than this can impact on healthy development of teeth and the shape of the mouth.

  If your baby uses a dummy;

  • Try to keep dummies for sleep time.
  • Don't dip it in anything sweet like honey or sugar. This will cause dental cavities.
  • Keep dummies clean and sterilised.
  • Don't put a dummy in your own mouth to ‘clean it’. This will move the bad bacteria in your mouth to the baby’s mouth.
  • Try to wean your baby off their dummy between 6-12 months of age. This can reduce the risk of crooked teeth and problems with language development.