Should I Let My Child Sleep With A Sippy Cup?

Posted on 11/15/2023 by Fariba Mutschler

Baby girl holding sippy cup in a high chair after visit to Great Grins for KIDS - Portland in Portland, OR

The nightly sleep battle can be exhausting for everyone- parents and children alike. If neither of you gets any sleep, you end up cranky, tired, and extra short-tempered. As a parent, you might be tempted to give your child a bottle or a sippy cup to soothe them into sleep. While that might work to soothe your fragile nerves, letting your child sleep with bottles or sippy cups can cause problems for their mouths down the road.

Your Child's Mouth

As your baby grows into a toddler, their bodies are in a constant state of growth and development. This includes their teeth, gums, and jaw as well. Children's mouths grow quickly, but the damage they can incur during this time of growth can cause problems well into adulthood.

Children who sleep with a bottle or sippy cup can leave the bottle or cup in their mouths for hours through the night. If the sippy cup or bottle contains milk or juice, you are inviting the bacteria that causes cavities to sit on their teeth throughout the night. In fact, the term bottle mouth was coined by dentists for children who develop cavities because of their bottle or sippy cup use during the night.

Long Term Effects

Sippy cups and bottles can cause other problems as well. Because your child's mouth is growing and changing so quickly, their teeth and jaws will mold themselves to make room for a bottle or sippy cup. Your child could develop a crossbite, which is a bite issue that may need treatment with braces later and could cause problems with both speech and dental hygiene.

While you may long for peace and quiet at night- and who could blame you- look for a different way to help your child go to sleep that doesn't include long-term consequences for their dental health.

My daughter was a little nervous to have her dental work done but everyone in the office was super friendly and very reassuring and that helped her nervousness go away. Thanks for the excellent dental experience. ~ Lilyana G.

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Our Dental Blog | Great Grins Pediatric Dentistry - Portland, OR
Dr. Fariba Mutschler & Dr. Mark Mutschler have created this informative blog to help educate the community. If you like an article or the dental blog in general please use the share it button to post to Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
Great Grins for KIDS Portland, 13908 SE Stark Street, Ste C, Portland, OR 97233-2161 | (971) 470-0054 | portlandchildrensdentist.com | 10/2/2024 | Tags: pediatric dentist Portland |