Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Sweetened Drinks in Sipper Cups Hasten Tooth Decay in Toddlers

by Medindia Content Team on Jan 2 2007 11:59 AM

Dentists frown down upon the habit of offering fruit juices and sugar added beverages to toddlers in sipper cups.Apart from mealtimes, its ideally better to avoid sugary drinks in cups with sippers that allow a child to suck up drinks’ aided by the sipper attached. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) pointed out that this can hasten tooth decay.

Sipper cups do help to avoid liquids from spilling over from toddlers’ hands even as they learns to hold the cup deftly in their hands. But if used for a long term period, it increases the risk to develop tooth decay ,reported Dr. Philip H. Hunke, president of AAPD.

Data shows that about a third of all kids in the U.S with tooth decay have used sipper cups. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that there has been an increase of 15.2% of cases of cavities in the milk teeth and tooth decay among 2-5 year olds between 1999 and 2002.

The academy cautions parents to use sippers for toddlers sparingly and specifically only to help then in their transition from bottle feeding to drinking from regular cups. Sipper cups with sugary drinks should be avoided at naptimes, they advised parents. This helps to guard against unwholesome “grazing’ habits in little children.

.

Source-Medindia
MST


Advertisement