My rule has been that once my 2yo DD's teeth are brushed for the night, she gets NOTHING but water. Lately, she has been asking for a drink of milk before bed, and I have been refusing her... (she usually drinks about 1/3 cup of water before bed...)
Then I started thinking... If you knock out a permanent tooth, you are supposed to put it in a cup of milk and take it to the dentist... And milk doesn't really have any sugar or anything like that in it (that I know of...) so would it be so bad to give her before bed?
What do you think? Would milk in her mouth be bad for her teeth? (She still drinks whole milk, if that makes a difference...)
Alrighty! Looks like I will just stick to my "water only" rule. :) She doesn't (and never has) actually taken a drink to bed with her, she just likes to have a drink of something immediately before laying down to sleep. I know I like to have a drink before sleeping too, so I don't mind. :)
I'm not sure how genetics will play for her... I know that I wasn't taught to brush my teeth as a child, so they only got brushed once a week or son (nasty, right? lol. I have since rectified that habit...) yet I have NEVER had a cavity... but my Hubby has horrible teeth, and even though he has always practiced good oral hygiene they are starting to rot out.... So we will see how genetics plays for our DD! :)
I worked in the dental field for 7+ years. Yes, milk is bad for teeth....that's why so many older babies who are allowed to drink from milk bottles before bed have issues with their teeth. It is very destructive to the enamel on the teeth.
Sorry, my vote is for "no". :)
A serving of milk has 11 grams of sugar (this is according to the gallon I have on hand right now, at least!). This is why letting your child go to bed with a bottle of milk is a huge no-no. It's just plain counter productive to let her have the milk after brushing teeth.
Well actually milk does have sugar, it's natural sugar so it's not "bad" but yeah, there is sugar. I wouldn't do it. I think I would offer her milk right before she brushes her teeth. If she refuses it remind her that she won't be getting it before bed if she asks. I also do only water after teeth brushing but we do wait until right before bed to brush teeth so it really hasn't been a problem for us. Also, at around 2 is when I started putting water bottles in my kids' bedrooms. I just got a cheap plastic one from Target and they keep in there so they can grab a drink. I haven't potty trained my son yet, but even during potty training my daughter was fine with it and didn't have any accidents because of it. That might help, even though it's not milk it gives her some freedom to drink when she wants.
Just piling on to what others have said. Milk has natural sugars that have the same corrosive effect on teeth that other sugars have. Currently, my son drinks milk at night before we brush his teeth. If you want to give your daughter milk before bedtime, make sure to brush her teeth afterward.
In a normal mouth saliva rinses the mouth after a few minutes. In a child that takes a bottle to bed with them then hold that full bottle in their mouth all night where it drips a continuous drip of milk, that child's teeth will rot out.
As for letting a child take a drink of milk, I would make the rule that she needs to drink it then go brush. BUT...yes, I did. We let the kids take tippy cups of chocolate milk to bed for years and they have pretty good teeth. They did not hold it in their mouth. Once they set it down it was gone.
The constant dripping of the milk on the teeth does not allow the saliva to rinse the mouth. So the lactic acid in the milk eats away at the enamel. So the tooth is weakened from the milk sitting on it.
If she eats or drinks after brushing her teeth it's not the worst thing that can happen. She should be fine either way.
Yes, it is bad for the teeth. When our kids were little our pediatrician told us that we should never let them go to bed with a bottle of milk. If our kids want milk after they brush their teeth, I tell them they will need to brush again. That usually changes their minds and they drink the water instead. :)
My dentist said that in 60 years of practice he's never once seen milk sugar (lactose & galactose) damage teeth, and that if anything babies and toddlers who regularly slept with milk tended to have stronger teeth than this who didnt.
You'll find dentists on both sides of the fence.
If you have bad genes, though, nothing but nothing will stop 'mush mouth', (soft baby teeth that rot in the socket), or cavities BUT being as careful as possible (brushing and rinsing every hour) can buy you maybe 6 months.
My husbands family has bad teeth (mush mouth)... But my family has super strong teeth... So we just went with 'an extra few months before pulling and root canals isn't worth the hourly battles. We'll pull them if we need to.
Turns out my son had my teeth... Milk every night (now for 10 years), just like all of us, and gorgeous strong teeth.
Ugh...milk is VERY high in sugar. (Especially in whole milk.) Most of the calories in milk, come from sugars. A cup of whole milk has 11 grams of sugar. That's equivalent to a blue bell ice cream sandwich. There is a reason, that it's suggested not to drink milk and then sleep. Sugar, is sugar. Whether it's added, or naturally occurring. The teeth can't differentiate between the two.
I don't know about the milk, but have my kids eat cheese after they brush. The cheese reduces the bacteria on the teeth, causes more saliva to flow and increases calcium concentration.
I was a dental assistant before become a stay at home mom. Yes milk is bad for the teeth if doesn't get brushed off. The milk that sits on her teeth while she is sleeping makes plaque. Plaque left on teeth too long causes cavities and discolors the teeth. So don't give her milk after brushing her teeth. But you could give her 1/3 cup of milk before brushing her teeth. Let her have her milk, brush her teeth and then if she wants to take some water to bed that's fine.
