Bottle rot

[Tiffy919]

My sister is 3 and will be 4 in may. I do not love with her. She had her 4 front teeth removed due to bottle rot. My mom seems to be in denial, she says it from her hititng her mouth. I did some reasearch, and nothing my mom said added up. My sister had all the signs of bottle rot, besides even if she did hit her mouth why is it that it was the 4 front teeth. My mom puts my sister in bed with a bottle she says its okay because it's mostly water and very little juice. I tried talking to my mom about it and she acused me of saying she's a bad mother, and again she's on denial. I try to do as much as i can, I brush her teeth when im there and try putting her to bed with a water bottle but my mom replaces it.

[RDH2]

If there is ANYTHING besides water in the bottle it can contribute to rotting teeth.  The normal bacteria in your sister's mouth will turn the natural sugar in juice, milk, formula, or anything else into acid.  If there is any plaque on your sister's teeth (and it is on everyone who doesn't brush for at least 3 minutes) the plaque will be harming your sister's teeth.  Plaque is that film that builds up on our teeth every day.  You can sometimes scrape it off with your finger nail.  Plaque is full of bacteria, waste products, dead cells, food particles, and general junk and is bad for your teeth.

Maybe you can find an article on the internet about "Baby Bottle Decay" and show it to your mom.  She is not a bad mother.  I am sure she has gotten used to giving your sister the bottle and has increased the water, but it is still causing harm.

Those four front top teeth came into your sister's mouth when she was 6 to 8 months old.  They are typically the teeth that suffer from baby bottle decay.  Her first permanent molars will come in when she is about 6 years old.  She'll also start to lose some of her front baby teeth then.  It is really important that your whole family knows how to take care of their teeth.  It is great that you are helping your sister.  She is lucky to have you in her life.

I hope that you have a dentist who can help teach your mom what to do for your sister to keep her mouth healthy and pain free.