* Never leave your child in bed with a bottle.
* Avoid prolonged use of pacifiers.
* After every meal, rinse your child’s teeth and gums with a clean sponge or gauze pad to remove plaque.
* Start using dental floss between the teeth of children occur in the first baby teeth.
* Between meals, if your child needs another between meals, give him a bottle of clear fresh water.
* Do not fill your child’s bottle with sugar liquids such as punch, gelatin or sugary drinks.
* Make sure your child take fluoride in some way, especially if your water is not fluoridated.
* Observe your child’s teeth regularly and begin dental visits when teeth start coming.

CAUSES
The deterioration of the teeth by the bottle is produced by exposing the teeth to liquids containing sugars during long periods of time. Among these liquids are milk, juice, gelatin or other sugary liquids.

The tooth decay occurs in children who continue to suck for long periods of time (may happen, for example, if the mother falls asleep while the baby is nursing). The plaque of bacteria that is on the teeth uses these sugars as an energy source to form acids that attack tooth enamel.