TV host Ryan Agoncillo posted a throwback photo of her daughter Luna on Instagram falling asleep with a bottle. This habit is a big NO for children’s dental care. It’s the primary reason why children develop baby bottle tooth decay or early childhood caries (ECC).
But of course, the uploaded throwback photo does not solely conclude how the celebrity takes care of his child’s teeth. In fact, you can even see how beautiful Luna’s teeth are in all Agoncillo’s present photos and videos in his Instagram account.
However, ECC usually manifests on the front teeth before kids reach 6 years old, depending on how regular the habit is done. Caries or cavities, the dark or brown spots on the teeth, are the result of too much sipping sugary drinks like formula milk and sweetened juice, frequent snacking, and improper dental hygiene.
In a short informative TikTok by licensed dentist Dr. Ella Roxas, who raises oral health awareness through fun and light videos, you’ll understand what ECC is, its bad effect leading to complications, and how to prevent it.
One of Dr. Roxas advice is also to never let your child sleep with the milk bottle in his/her mouth because formula milk's high sugar content plus saliva produce strong acid that can break down teeth’s enamel causing ECC. So, it’s really best to follow her and every oral health expert's advice: “Replace the milk with water so it can wash off the sugar that coats the teeth.”
“One of the photos of decaying teeth I showed in the video is from one of my patients who’s just three years old. Her mother had all the teeth extracted because the child can no longer eat due to infections,” Dr. Roxas told Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Online. “So never take ECC for granted even though you know that those decayed baby teeth will be replaced by permanent ones.”
According to Dr. Roxas, don’t hesitate or be afraid to visit dental clinics. “We, dentists, follow all safety protocols like pre-interviewing patients before they could get a schedule, wearing high-standard PPEs that we change after treating every patients, and disinfecting clinic rooms and dental tools before and after patients come in, that's why all patients wait 15 minutes before their sessions,” she assures.
Parents can learn a lot from this certified dentheeta’s educational videos including how to properly handle pediatric patients. And this dentistoker strongly reminds this to parents: “Your child’s smile is a reflection of yours.”