Baby bottle tooth decay and complications during pregnancy and delivery

The purpose of the study was to investigate an association between maternal and/or fetal complications during pregnancy and/or delivery and the occurrence of baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) in the infant. The study population comprised 50 mothers of infants with BBTD (BBTD+ mothers): 50 mothers of aged-matched children with similar eating and bottle-use habits but without BBTD (BBTD-) served as comparisons. Interviews with the mothers focused on pregnancy complications (vaginal bleeding, premature uterine contractions, viral or bacterial infections, hospitalization, diabetes, or other causes of high-risk pregnancy), mode of delivery (normal or instrumental), fetal distress, gestational age, birth weight, and mother's age at delivery. Chi-square analysis and the Student's t-test were used to analyze the data. Pregnancy complications and instrument delivery/cesarean section were significantly higher in the BBTD+ group than in the controls (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0004, respectively). In the BBTD+ group, vaginal bleeding/premature uterine contractions were most frequent (50%), while in the BBTD- group high-risk pregnancy dominated (20%). Normal deliveries were more frequent in the BBTD+ mothers (68%) than in the comparisons (40%). Gestational age and baby's birth weight did not differ between the two groups. The mean age of the BBTD+ mothers was significantly lower than that of the controls (P = 0.013). The results suggest that babies born after maternal complications during pregnancy or babies who experience a traumatic birth must be considered to be at risk of developing BBTD when exposed to excessive bottle nursing.