20 Mo Daughter Politely Asking for Milk at Bedtime .. Will It Rot Her Teeth?

I would let her have some milk in the kitchen before bedtime and fill the sippy cup with water for when she goes to bed.

She asking nicely~ give it to her. It should be fine and if you are worried about it... have her drink it and brush her teeth again. Simple.

My son had milk until he was 3 or 4.(After the milk, it was a sippy of water.) Now he has a glass of water at his bedside.

Horror stories do not mean it will happen to you.

Oh~ and his teeth are just fine for this practice. You also have to factor in the daily diet and sugar intake as well... not just bedtime milk sippy cups. (as from what the poster below says.)

EDIT:
After a child falls asleep, it is a smart idea to remove the sippy of milk anyway as bacteria forms in the cup (where they drink) after so much time - and I for one can't stand room-temp. milk! It's gross. So I always removed it after my son went to sleep.

I have never answered one of these posts before..but wanted to share with you what I'm going through with my 13 month old son right now! As his top baby teeth came in we noticed that they were looking a little odd like he was missing enamel on them. I kept asking the doctor and he told me not to worry about it. When he turned a year I couldn't wait any longer and took him to a pediatric dentist and they said he had cavities!!! He has never had juice or sweets and never takes a bottle to bed but they said the culprit was night-time nursing! I never thought that could happen from nursing! We have taken him to multiple dentists for their opinion and they all have said the exact same thing! So now we have to anesthetize him to have all the cavities filled with a possible baby root canal and he's only 20.5 pounds! I would have to say to only give her water at bedtime. Our dentists all said that he nurses through the night that we have to wipe his teeth off each time! Just wanted to share this since it was a shock to us! We thought breast milk was the "perfect food"!

NO, it won't cause tooth rot. Ask your pediatric dentist. It won't hurt anymore than drinking a glass of milk at morning snack and not brushing teeth until bedtime.

What causes tooth rot is letting a child keep a bottle in their mouth while they sleep and the milk drips onto their teeth all night. The mouth rinses itself with saliva and somewhat cleans itself. But if the milk is continuously dripping it can't get the milk off and therefore the teeth rot off.

We asked the dentist, he said as long as we were doing good tooth care that having a drink of milk was okay at bedtime.

It is always a good idea to not let kids take a drink to bed and encouraging them to brush as the last thing before bed but it won't cause tooth rot if you drink it after.

How many people do you know that drink a pop in the car or at work or eat a candy bar/doughnut/dessert and don't brush their teeth until bedtime, those items have much more sugar and the adults don't get tooth rot. Their saliva cleans out the mouth some and then brushing helps keep the teeth strong.

Hi M., You are probably wondering what you should do to get your sweet little dd back to water or nothing before she goes to sleep. By her age, you can reason with her enough so that while she is drinking her milk the first time, you tell her that this is the last time she gets milk. Ask her if she's had enough and tell her no more milk until morning, but she can have water if she wants. This way, when you get to the sweet request later, she will either not say it (doubtful) or you'll have a little ammunition with, "Remember we said no more milk until morning. I'll go get you some water, ok?" When she agrees (which she will do, hopefully) remember to tell her what a big girl she is. Good luck!

Hi M.! Absolutely no milk unless she is going to brush her teeth again. The sugars will remain on her teeth and cause decay.

I thought one responder was funny! Just because she asks nicely doesn't mean that she should have it. Good manners doesn't prevent tooth decay ;)

Ask your dentist and he will tell you the same. Only water unless you are going to brush her teeth again.

As long as you brush her teeth after she will be okay.

Just brush her teeth again.

I support the hygienist and not your first response. Our pediatric dentist said saliva flow slows WAY down at night. But he did say I could give my son a piece of bread with nothing on it and have him drink water afterwards when he's hungry due to a growth spurt (he's 3 1/2). Have you thought of asking her if she wants a second sippy of milk before brushing teeth? Maybe you could offer her a lovey if she requests milk after teeth brushing? Good luck!

Change her routine so she has a little snack and milk BEFORE brushing her teeth!

Like one of the previous posters said, you need to take into account genetics in the development of cavities as well. If you and your husband generally have healthy teeth and you are brushing, she's not too likely to develop cavities from giving her milk to drink at night. Guess you need to choose what's more important to you: Rewarding her polite request and brushing her teeth afterwards. If she misses her brushing on occasion, that alone will not hurt her teeth. It's the overall hygiene, diet, and genetics that would come into play. If you are very concerned about her developing cavities, then make sure she brushes her teeth after she drinks the milk. It seems taking a balanced approach usually works best.

I don't know about the dental issue but I would like to say job well done of teaching her manners!!!!!!!!! It's something lacking in so many children these days esp. ones so young. You are obviously doing something right, Good for you! and for her in being so polite!

She shouldn't have anything other than water unless you are going to brush her teeth again. The sugars in the milk can and will cause cavaties and tooth decay. My son will sometimes ask for a drink when he goes to bed and if he does we g(20 months) ive him a sippy cup of water. My son's dentist said this was perfectly acceptable and actually encouraged because if he does wake up and drink some (or drink some while falling asleep) it helps to rinse any bacteria in his mouth from settling on his teeth.

NO MILK! I was specifically told by the family dentist that nothing other than water should be given at bedtime and after. It will cause cavities and more. I know it's hard especially when they ask so nicely but you just cannot give in. We went through the same thing with my son. It took a few nights but he got over it. Hang in there!

Milk or no milk doesn't really matter, unless you care about giving him milk in general. The issue is whether or not you insist your child brush their teeth all over again before going to sleep. And, unfortunately, that doesn't sound like the plan you are using. If you want to giver her the milk, then for her dental health, you need to require she get her teeth brushed again. (and you'll notice, I said "get them brushed" again... at 21 months - actually according to my dentist and others, up until at least age 4, children are not capable of properly brushing their teeth on their own. You should be doing it for them. They can do it on their own, and then you go after them to really be sure it is done properly; or you can go first and they can copy, either way.. but an adult must clean their teeth or it isn't done adequately to clean them).
So, if you are willing to go through the teeth brushing process a 2nd time, then there is no issue with letting her have the milk. If you aren't, then you need to tell her no, and only give water. You should explain to her that drinking something with sugars in it (milk) requires brushing her teeth to keep them healthy, and therefore... we must brush again/you can't have any until morning. Whichever way you go, remember you are the mommy, and if she cries a little, she will get over it. If you give in to her crying about it, then she is the one in charge, and that sets a bad precedent for future power struggles.

oh.. and the reason you can eat in the morning and get away with not brushing again until bedtime, is that during the day you are awake and actively producing and swallowing MUCH MUCH MUCH more frequently than you do when you are asleep at night. At night, you are sleeping and whatever is remaining in your mouth when you went to bed stays on your teeth all night long. During the day, you are drinking (hopefully water often), eating, talking and continuously producing and swallowing saliva.. which helps to rinse the teeth. When you are sleeping... ummm... not so much.

I understand the wonders of modern medicine and studies that show how we can best protect our childrens' health. However, these studies do not include the importance of genetics in their studies. Both my husband and I come from families with strong, healthy teeth. I have raised my bio children and a grandson and they all have grown to adulthood with extremely healthy teeth and maybe 3 cavities throughout childhood and I stress maybe because some did better. They had rituals of dental hygiene but if they wanted a drink of mil or juice before bed, so be it. While the study may show rotting teeth in children who drink milk before they go to bed, that does not mean every child will have the same results. Remember that adults are urged to drink milk prior to bed if they have trouble sleeping. Four nights is not a pattern. I recommend you follow your routine and allow her the milk for now.

no milk at bedtime will not rot her teeth. if she is asking for milk,
how is she going to make more teeth, if she doesnt get milk?? where do you think calcium and vitamin d comes from ?
K. h.

HI M.,
No she should not have milk just before bedtime, unless you brush again or chase it down with water. I was a dental hygienist for 31 years and much damage can be done at night, because saliva flow slows down. The worst thing is allowing a bottle of milk or formula in the crib to help the child fall asleep- this should be taught in the hospital before a baby goes home. I have seen baby bottle caries (tooth decay) and it isn't pretty. Restoration of badly decayed teeth can be traumatic for a young child and expensive for the family. Good Luck and Best Wishes!

I wouldn't recommend it! If you choose to give your daughter milk at all, from the info in these posts...

My son is 4 now, and we used to give him milk at bedtime, after brushing his teeth. He had great dental hygiene habits, brushing twice a day, flossing almost daily, and he even liked to use the citrus type of listerine. He loved brushing his teeth. And he loved his milk at bedtime.

However, we took him to a trip to the dentist on his birthday, and he had 6 cavities! It was not horribly traumatic to have them fixed, but it isn't cheap, and it isn't fun.

It may have been due to poor prenatal nutrition (he is adopted, & his birth mom didn't have much prenatal care), but the milk probably didn't help! Now we just make sure if he wants a snack or drink other than water, that he request it before teeth are brushed. After teeth are brushed, it's water only in our house.

I know you were mostly concerned about dental health, but just wanted to mention another issue. I start limiting beverage intake period at about 7:00 (she goes to bed at 8:30) for my daughter because I don't want her to have an accident. I started potty training at 20 months and she is going to be 3 next month. I think she's wet the bed maybe 3 times in the last 6 months.

The problem with giving milk at bedtime is that milk is not all natural it has sugar in it. If you give a baby milk right before bedtime and not brush their teeth after words than that sugar sits on their teeth all night. It's not the same as drinking milk in the morning and not brushing all day. When your awake during the day and drink milk your mouth has moving saliva all day. They swallow and drink water and eat food and such so it's not just sitting on the teeth. Than most babies also close their mouths at night so not only is it just sitting but it's not getting fresh air. So it's def. not a good idea to give them milk at night and not give water later. My son drinks milk every night before bed but 95% of the time it's when he's still up and around. I try to make sure he doesn't get it in bed. Now everyone once in a while he will wake and ask for some but MOST of the time it doesn't happen that way.

Your right it can rot her teeth- What if you let her drink her milk from a cup standing up-just put a small amount in cup. And then hand her a cup of water-the water should get rid of the milk in her mouth. Of course the best thing for her teeth would be nothing except water after she brushes.....