Baby Needs a New Smile BABY NEEDS A BRAND NEW SMILE New Jersey Pediatric Dentist Offers Solutions to Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Complications Fort Lee, NJ – Aug August 13, 2001 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that six out of ten children in the United States have one or more cavities by the age of five. The most insidious form of decay comes from a most innocuous source, the baby bottle. Infants and children who are given bottles of juice, milk or formula to drink, especially when they are reclining or going to sleep, can develop a condition know as baby bottle tooth decay. Natural mouth bacterium feeds off of the sugars in these liquids creating a form of acid that attacks the tooth enamel for upwards of 20 minutes. When the child is reclining with a bottle, the liquid pools around the childÕs teeth and often goes unswallowed for an extended period of time, thus extending the acid attack. Baby bottle tooth decay is not easily detected and most often affects the upper front teeth. By the time the baby bottle tooth decay is noticeable, the teeth have already begun to deteriorate. The condition is irreversible and will require dental work that includes general anesthesia. Depending on the extent of the damage, the teeth will need to be extracted or capped with a silver crown leaving the childÕs smile marred for years until the permanent teeth grow in. Dr. Barry L. Jacobson, DMD, a pediatric dentist in Fort Lee, New Jersey has devoted an extensive portion of his practice to treating baby bottle tooth decay in children. His restoration work on bottle-rotted teeth eschews traditional silver caps for beautiful, porcelain-colored crowns and bridges. "A smile disfigured by rotted teeth and silver caps has a profound psychological effect on a childÕs self esteem," says Dr. Jacobson. "Providing children and parents with an esthetically pleasing solution to bottle rot not only restores self-esteem, it instills a greater awareness of the value of good oral hygiene." According to Dr. Jacobson, the key to proper restoration is in the diagnosis. Once the teeth are carefully examined, a determination can be made to save the remaining tooth via application of custom crowns or pulling the teeth and creating a bridge. Dr. Jacobson molds his crowns by hand and uses a top dental lab to build his carefully blueprinted bridges. "Dentists are quick to pull out a bottle rotted tooth, or cap it with a silver crown because itÕs quicker," says Dr. Jacobson, "I take the time because a childÕs smile is worth it." Children need strong, healthy teeth to speak, chew food and have a good-looking smile. Baby teeth also keep a space in the jaw for the adult teeth. If a baby tooth is lost too early, nearby teeth may drift into this empty space, leaving little or no room for the permanent tooth and greatly increasing the need for braces. "Bottle rot is 100% preventable with early dental care," says Dr. Jacobson, "Start by wiping pre-teething gums with a clean gauze pad after each feeding. Once the first tooth erupts, start brushing your childÕs teeth every day. And start dental visits by the childÕs first birthday." About Barry L. Jacobson, D.M.D Dr. Jacobson received his Bachelors Degree from Columbia University, his Doctorate from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and his specialty certificate from Maimonides Medical Center of Brooklyn, NY where he was chief resident. He is the former director of pediatric dentistry at Downstate Medical Center (Brooklyn, NY), and has held teaching positions at Maimonides Medical Center, Columbia School of Dental and Oral Surgery and SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Jacobson has become one of the first pediatric dentists on the East Coast to introduce lasers to his young patients. He has been invited to address other professionals at dental conferences focusing on "the future of lasers in dentistry." Dr. Jacobson is a certified specialist in pediatric dentistry and currently practices in Flushing, New York and Fort Lee, New Jersey. Contact: Dr. Barry Jacobson (201) 224-8500 drjfortlee@aol.com www.HealthNewsDigest.com