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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Am I going to make socially stigmatise DD while turning her teeth black and damning her dentally?

27 replies

ArtiChokesOnTheWishbone · 18/12/2007 19:45

Because some people act like I am - because DD still has her milk from a bottle at 17 months. One woman at toddlers swore her teeth will be "black as soot" by 18 months. They seem pretty milky white right now.

Why does everyone seem so obsessed with getting babies onto beakers? Is it just coz Gina Ford tells them to?

DD loves her bottle. I have no intention of making her give it up until (a) she turns 3ish or (b) someone shows me a good reason to do it earlier.

I am just talking about milk in a bottle. Not juice.

OP posts:
bobsyouruncle · 18/12/2007 19:50

DD had milk in a bottle until she was 3, and the thing is, when I chucked the bottles she refused to drink milk at all. tbh I wish I'd had the confidence to say stuff what everyone else thinks and just stuck with the bottles for a bit longer!

CarGirl · 18/12/2007 19:53

I suppose I wonder why she is having a bottle of milk at toddlers - mine would have a drink of milk first thing in the morning & at bedtime at that age and possibly after lunch time nap - although the youngest & eldest never did that at all - they weren't fussed about milk after 11 months (even the fully bf one!)

boredwantachange · 18/12/2007 19:54

the dentists i know say that lid cups with valves are as bad for teeth

olivo · 18/12/2007 19:55

i am having a personal crisis with this at the moment artichoke! my dd is 15 months, she has a morning bottle and a bottle before her bath. i tried for a week or so to swap the teats for a spout but she rejected it all. this morning and this evening i gave her it in a bottle with a teat and she took 8oz and 6oz respectiviely. she just will not drink milk from any of the millions of cups i've tried, only water.

i have decided to stuff the advice; i'd rather she had some milk and I refuse to believe that two 5 minute drinks from a bottle will damage her teeth!

TinselHockey · 18/12/2007 19:56

My friend's a dentist and she sees no harm whatsoever, as long as you brush their teeth after the nighttime bottle (unless it's cows milk or bm).

Kathyate6mincepies · 18/12/2007 19:56

Our dentist says that the biggest issue of all is juice/squash - milk isn't as bad as that, no matter what you give it in.

boredwantachange · 18/12/2007 19:57

valve cups as bad here

both of mine had milk from bottles until 2, dentist says they have fab teeth.

bobsyouruncle · 18/12/2007 19:59

ds is 3 and drinks alot of milk (in a cup not a bottle) during the day, not ideal as it does influence how much he eats, but I don't stress about it.

CarGirl · 18/12/2007 20:01

Sorry I didn't make it clear so long as it's milk not an issue with toddlers having milk in a bottle.

Mine dd was horrified when we ditched the bottles at 25months - dd3 was only 11 months but she had to accept avent magic spout or no milk. She got over it but so much easier when there is 2 of them.

BTW it must taste different out of different cups I have to have my real coffee in a china cup to enjoy it properly it doesn't taste quite the same out of anything else - honest!

olivo · 18/12/2007 20:04

I'm liking this reassurance
artichoke, are you feeling better about it?

margoandjerry · 18/12/2007 20:05

Glad you posted this. I'm trying to get my 14 mo dd off her nighttime bottle (the only milk she has) because everyone says you have to. So I'm using a variety of other cups and she can't be bothered with them and only has a tiny drink of milk.

She doesn't have a problem in the day with cups. She only drinks water in the day and it's only from a cup or beaker.

So I think she likes her bottle at night. It takes 10 mins to drink so cannot possibly do any serious damage in that time. She likes the comfort. And she has her teeth cleaned afterwards.

I suspect as with all parenting advice, it's aimed at the worst parents - who let their children sip constantly at a bottle all day, allowing teeth to be constantly bathed in milk or juice or squash and not cleaned afterwards as well as preventing them from learning to drink properly.

Anyone care to tell me whether this is wrong?

Seona1973 · 18/12/2007 20:06

neither of my lo's would have had daytime milk at that age either although dd was on beakers for milk at 14 months and ds at 10 1/2 months. It is better for their teeth not to use bottles and they may also fill up on milk at the expense of solids as it is easier/faster to suck the milk out of a teat than a cup. At its worst it can cause 'bottle mouth syndrome' but that is more likely to happen if your lo falls asleep on the bottle without having their teeth brushed.

Magrat · 18/12/2007 20:10

IMHO a bottle in public at this age does socially stigmatise the family group

and

leggsit

Original poster
ArtiChokesOnTheWishbone · 18/12/2007 20:10

I am feeling better olivo . Like your DD, mine just refuses milk from anything other than her bottle.

We have a slight complication though, it is neither breast milk or cow's milk that DD has. It is rice milk (because she has a dairy allergy). I don't suppose there are any rice milk aware dentists out there????

Cargirl - DD has 4 bottles a day. Its partly because of her allergies - rice milk is her main source of calcium so I give her lots. Also she loves it and she still has a great appetite. The cutting of daytime milk feeds is another bit of advice that I wonder about the value of.

OP posts:
TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 18/12/2007 20:12

A bottle of milk is different to a bottle of juice. If you can get them off it then fair enough do, but I would think the good of milk outweighs the possible harm of bottles. I don't know an awful lot about why they shouldn't have bottles thought tbh, my two were happy to take cups quite early so never needed to look into it.

TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 18/12/2007 20:14

And anyway, surely they must be different, no-one says you shouldn't use bottles for milk from four months or whatever it is you should use beakers from, so why at 17 months?

Original poster
ArtiChokesOnTheWishbone · 18/12/2007 20:15

Why Magrit??? Why on earth does it stigmatise th family group? Are you joking or serious? If serious then please don't leg it, explain why. Pretty please? I honestly don't get it.

OP posts:
Seona1973 · 18/12/2007 20:17

I think the 'advice' is to introduce cups at around 6 months and then totally go onto a cup rather than a bottle by 1 year - thats what I've always worked towards anyway.

MerryPIFFLEmas · 18/12/2007 20:19

ds1 had a bottle with milk in once a day at bedtime from age 2 when he came off the boob (at 16 mths) and then regressed afew mths later
He ditched it aged 4.5
Now... his teeth were really bad, the biting sufaces of his molars, despite a good teeth brushing routine and a non sugary diet.
The first thing the dental person said was
How long did he have a bottle for

TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 18/12/2007 20:20

DS had a bottle at around this age at nap time btw, the only thing is he never took it out of our home, so no-one knew! Same with his dummy

TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 18/12/2007 20:22

4.5 is quite a bit longer than 17months though Piffle, but it's a good point you're making. If it does damamge teeth when does it actually start to?

NAB3littlemonkeys · 18/12/2007 20:22

I think it is to do with the natrural sugars from the milk hanging around the teeth and gums as lots of people don't brush their child's teeth after they have had their milk as they are half asleep. (The child that is, not the parent!)

Magrat · 18/12/2007 20:23

to me ... it looks common, like ear piercings

I rather detest these threads .. it's asking for the non-judgemental attitude that everyone strives for as a PC individual where whatever goes goes .. but people have opinions about stuff like this that goes with their own child-rearing techniques .. and the OP strikes to the heart of it .. it's a 'this is my decision don't you dare disagree'

first child had a night-time bottle until he was just over 3 and I hated it .. wished fervently I'd got rid of it earlier when it would have been easier .. second child never had a bottle at all .. first child does have dental issues unfortunately but partly through poorly formed enamel

frostythesnowmum · 18/12/2007 20:25

I wouldn't worry. My friends have all done a variety of things with their children and my son is 2 1/2 and has a beaker of milk before bed after his teeth brushing and all their teeth are fine. The only little one I know who has cavities (not black teeth) eats way to many sweets and often falls asleep before tooth brushing so misses this late one.

MerryPIFFLEmas · 18/12/2007 20:26

Not sure ds only had a bottle from age 2 to just over 3... I just though back and I had left NZ when he was was just over 3 and he never had a bottle once we left, so why did I think 4.5?
It was once a day with milk at bedtime and he brushed afterwards

Dentist said the sugars soften the enamel and brushing within 30 mins of drinking things with sugars etc in them is that by brushing straight afterwards, you damage the enamel.
So it can be that... and not just milk, he said after weaned, water is the best bedtime drink

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