Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, according to a 2000 Surgeon General's report on oral health. Tooth decay is five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever, the report says. Sippy cups could be contributing to this statistic. Sippy cups are a good way to transition your toddler from a bottle to a cup, but if misused, they can have harmful effects on your child's teeth.
Function
You can use a sippy cup to help your toddler go from a bottle to a cup. Sippy cups are usually easy for your toddler to hold and teach your child how to drink from a cup. If used properly, sippy cups can help your child develop good oral motor skills and learn how to swallow like an adult.
Risk of Decays
Use a sippy cup only at meal or snack times. What goes in the sippy cup is also important. Allowing your child to carry a sippy cup around all day can lead to cavities or baby-bottle tooth decay. The liquid, especially if it is sweet, sits on your child's teeth and slowly causes the enamel to break down. When this occurs on the front teeth, it is called baby-bottle tooth decay and can become painful.
Sweet Drinks
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests offering only water or milk in a sippy cup between meals. Water won't harm teeth, but milk does contain some sugar that can lead to cavities if it stays on your child's teeth for long periods of time. The academy also discourages parents from giving a child a sippy cup containing any sweet drink such as fruit juice, soda, tea, formula or milk at bedtime or nap time.
Types of Sippy Cups
Big-box stores and drugstores have rows and rows of different types of sippy cups. The American Dental Association recommends using one without a valve. Cups that are labeled no-spill or spill-proof have a valve that prevents the liquid from leaking out of the cup. The valve forces a child to suck from the cup, much like a bottle. This prevents her from learning how to drink from a cup. You can buy cups that have lids without valves and are weighted on the bottom so they are less likely to tip.
Additional Considerations
Lori Johnston, a New Jersey speech language pathologist, has said this about the transition time from bottle to sippy cups and how sippy cups are used: "In my opinion, chronic use of a pacifier, bottle and/or sippy cup during this time frequently results in oral-motor and/or speech disorders, malocclusion and 'tongue thrust' swallowing patterns. I also agree that chronic use of a sippy cup may be one of several contributing factors for a particular child with speech/articulation delays."
Even if you put only water in your child's sippy cup to protect her teeth, the sippy cup itself may cause problems with her bite, speech and swallowing patterns.
