Can sippy cups cause cavities in your child?

As your child graduates from bottles to cups, sippy cups are a popular in-between for children to use. If they haven’t quite grasped the concept of sucking straws, the sippy cup makes perfect sense. Many parents love sippy cups because they don’t leak or spill all over the place. But, what some parents don’t realize is the sippy cup has some hidden disadvantages. The Pediatric Dental Specialists team highlights some of the issues a sippy cup can cause.

Sugary drinks affect tiny teeth.

For young children, a sippy cup is a great vehicle for a drink. However, many parents aren’t putting the correct drinks in their child’s sippy cups, which can pose a risk to their dental health.

For a young child, a sippy cup is often how they get their liquids for the day. Children usually take a sip or two here and there throughout the day. However, casually sipping on a drink other than water isn’t good for your little one’s teeth.

Many drinks contain hidden sugars, especially fruit juice. When sipped throughout the day, these drinks allow sugars to continually build up in the mouth. If the sugars aren’t washed away, either with water or tooth brushing, it can lead to a buildup of bacteria, plaque, and tartar on your child’s teeth. And when left on the teeth for an extended period of time, the bacteria can eat away at your child’s teeth, causing cavities.

How can you protect tiny teeth?

If your child is going to be sipping on a drink throughout the day, consider filling their sippy cup with water instead of juice or milk. Water helps to wash away any bacteria buildup that can occur in your child’s mouth. Water also helps to keep your child hydrated throughout the day.

When giving your child juice or milk, consider saving those drinks for meal times. This way, your child isn’t sipping on drinks throughout the day that can expose their teeth to sugar, which can slowly eat away at their teeth and cause tooth decay. 

Another tip is to dilute their juice with water to cut down on the amount of sugar they are ingesting. 

What are some healthy drink alternatives?

If you are going to use a sippy cup for your child, the best drinks to fill them with include water, plain milk, or (as we mentioned) watered down juice. Water is good for keeping your child hydrated, and it can also help to wash any leftover bacteria away. Milk is also a good choice because it contains calcium, which is important for bone growth. Calcium can also help keep the enamel, the hard outer layer of a tooth, strong.

If your child is sipping on drinks that are high in sugar, like juice, sports drinks, flavored milk, and soda, make sure they are brushing their teeth afterward. Brushing the teeth will help remove the built-up bacteria in the mouth. If brushing isn’t an option, switch your child’s drink to water, which can help wash away some of that bad bacteria in their mouth.

Ditch the sippy cup.

If you are concerned with how a sippy cup can cause your child’s teeth harm, look to switching over to a different cup for your child’s drinks. If you are worried about spills and messes, consider a cup that has a straw. When drinking with a straw, the drink your child is having doesn’t sit in the mouth as long because the straw is past their teeth. This means the drink doesn’t have as much of a chance to touch the teeth, so the bacteria has a lesser chance of building up in your child’s mouth.

The range of choices in children’s drinkware these days is quite astonishing, so you’ll find a variety of different cups you can try with your child to find the right one for them.

Schedule a visit at Pediatric Dental Specialists today.

Your child’s dental health is important, which is why the team at Pediatric Dental Specialists in Kearney, Nebraska, recommends you have your child visit us at least twice a year, starting around their first birthday or when their first tooth comes in. If you are worried about your child developing cavities at an early age, our team can discuss cavity prevention strategies, which could include dental sealants. Together, we can come up with a plan that is unique to your child and their health.

If you are concerned about your child’s dental health, and are worried about cavity prevention, give the Pediatric Dental Specialists team a call today to schedule an appointment. We can’t wait to see you!