“My son is 3 years old and is still on the bottle. Will it have an impact on the shape of his teeth?”
My son is 3 years old and despite all my trying he is unable to leave the bottle. Will it have an impact on his teeth?
11 Answers
OrthodontistBottlefeeding
Not usually unless he is still on a bottle and using a pacifier when he's 6-7 years old as his permanent front teeth are set to erupt
No, at this young age, it shouldn't have any effect. Going to sleep with the bottle in his mouth, if the liquid has sugar, can cause tooth decay.
I suggest you switch to the Comotomo type nipple to help avoid jaw development problems that often can happen.
First and most important is that he doesn't use the bottle at night without brushing his teeth. Milk bottle caries is a very serious problem. Depending how hard how often your son is sucking on the bottle it may impact the form of his mouth. If possible it's best to use different types of bottle nipples as each nipple type Demands a different kind of sucking
If he has the bottle in for long periods of time it may cause problems with tooth eruption. Also swallowing is supposed to change forming proper lip seal. He should transition to a sip cup and then a regular cup right away.
Alan R. Heller, DDS, MS
Alan R. Heller, DDS, MS
It will affect his teeth only if you let him sleep with the bottle which you should never allow. Using a bottle to drink from should not affect how his teeth erupt. Nor should it increase his chance of getting cavities. Just make sure that after he’s done drinking you take the bottle away from him/her. Do not let it just sit in his/her mouth.
Depend on how long each day, each session, he uses the bottle. A big, maybe a bigger issue, however, is what is in the bottle. Many children who develop a habit with the bottle for long periods of time end up with a condition called rampant decay, in which many if not most of the teeth have large irrestorable cavities. Then teeth are removed, spaces left just close up on their own, and as the permanent teeth erupt, the bite and alignment of the mouth is severely impaired. Another possible issue is the development of an open bite habit due to the tongue/lip posture associated with the bottle habit. This habit if carried through during the growth and development period of the child's growth ,which happens all of the time, will detrimentally influence the shape of the jaws and face, not to mention the malformation of the teeth.
It's about time to start changing over to a "sippy cup". The longer he continues to use the bottle, there is a chance it can affect his dentition. Hope this helps... Dr.B.
If your 3 year old son is merely taking a bottle just at mealtime, it probably won't affect the shape of the dental arch(es), or position of the teeth. It's more the chronic parafunctional habits like thumb sucking or mouth breathing that can cause malaligned teeth and jaws.
Yes, research has shown that long-term bottle sucking will have a significant impact on the shape of the bottle-suckers anterior palate and the position of the bottle-sucker's anterior teeth. It is critical that the bottle sucking be stopped before the child's permanent teeth erupt. Future position of the toddler's teeth have begun as tooth development has too.
Prolonged use of a bottle could affect the shape of your son’s mouth. I would suggest switching to a regular cup and giving up the fake nipple and/or pacifier.
