Sippy cups are meant to transition an infant out of breast or bottle feeding, but their efficiency at containing spills with their hard-topped lids have prolonged their use beyond the suggested duration encouraged by dental professionals. This can lead to two major problems in toddlers: tooth decay and teeth misalignment.
In recent years, a trend of infancy and toddler tooth decay cases outnumbered those of older children, and professionals in the dentistry field seem to be pointing to sippy cups as the cause. In fact, a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that from 1994 to 1999, just five short years, cavities in 2-to-5 year olds increased by 15.2 percent.
Additionally, numerous reports and experiments have found that toddlers treat a sippy cup like a bottle, tilting head back and sucking. This misuse of what’s meant to be a short-term, transitional tool can misshape the roof of the mouth and press the top front teeth forward as they develop. These misalignments can disrupt a child’s speech, chewing, and swallowing developments.
Proper Use of the Sippy Cup
When parents come into the dental office with their child and are dismayed at the news that their child has cavities, I often ask about their child’s habits as far as pacifiers and sippy cups go. Both can have detrimental effects on their dentation health. With sippy cups, the problem lies in not only what’s placed in the cups, but also how long it is available for the child’s use.
When sippy cups are treated like a bottle, a child’s natural sucking instincts will kick in and the sippy cup inhabits proper development. The plastic spout gets in the way of the tongue so that as they drink it can’t press up into the roof of the mouth like it’s supposed to. Furthermore, the lips aren’t in a natural position, and the jaws are displaced during drinking as well. If sippy cups are overused, these muscles are trained not to do their job properly.
When it comes to little people tooth decay, sugary drinks in sippy cups may have a hand in it. Often, sippy cups are left out with sugary drinks such as juice so the toddler can drink it as they want it. Unfortunately, this allows bacteria to grow in the cup between drinks, especially in the crevices of the inner lid. So each drink your child is getting can potentially be exponentially increasing their exposure dental caries causing bacteria. Sippy cup lids are often hard to clean, and if not done so correctly, pose a real threat to the child’s teeth.
In a Los Angeles Times interview, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry President Dr. Rhea M. Haugseth stated, ““We are seeing an increase in decay rates in children ages 2 to 5. That group is getting more decay than the older kids. The big culprits seem to be the sugared beverages in the sippy cup, the frequency of them getting these snack foods and sugared beverages all day every day, and the lack of education and knowledge of the parent that they are supposed to be brushing these kids’ teeth.”
So what is the recommended time period and age of a child for sippy cup use? Most dental experts agree that sippy cups should only be used for about a month as you wean your child off the breast or bottle. Encourage your child to use them like the tool they are, not an alternative to a regular cup. You may be cleaning up more spills in the long run, but that’s cheaper than the costs of teeth alignment or speech therapy later in the child’s life.
Tips on Utilizing the Sippy Cup Properly
Here are some guidelines for parents on using sippy cups properly to avoid childhood dental caries and teeth misalignment:
- The sippy cup is a training tool to help children transition from a bottle to a cup. It shouldn’t be used for a long period of time – it’s not a bottle and it’s not a pacifier.
- Introduce regular cups along with sippy cups. Straws can help discourage the use of a bottle as well.
- Don’t allow your child to tilt their head back or lean back as they drink from a sippy cup. By showing them it’s not like a bottle, you’ll shift their mind set on its use.
- The sippy cup should only be filled with water. Frequent drinking of any other sugary liquid, even if diluted, from a bottle or no-spill training cup should be avoided.
- Use proper tools such as bottle brushes or q-tips to clean the hard to reach crannies of the inside of the sippy cup lid.
- Sippy cups should not be used at naptime or bedtime, but if you must only place water in them.
If you have questions or concerns about sippy cup use and whether it may be affecting your toddler’s oral health, be sure to check out www.aapd.org or schedule a visit with your family dentist to discuss it and have your child’s teeth examined. With support, you and your child can make sure their mouths develop correctly and the transition into regular cup usage is a smooth one.
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