5 Must-Have Features in a Dental-Care Sippy Cup

As parents, we all want what’s best for our children. However, with the many commercial products available in the market, it’s easy for us to make bad choices especially regarding  children’s toys and feeding products. The sippy cup is a perfect example of a misused baby product. Did you know that it has a lot of damaging effects on children’s teeth?

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What Sippy Cups Do to Children’s Teeth

Parents love using sippy cups because of their non-spill feature, which is quite handy, especially for toddlers who just love to throw things. The real purpose of a sippy cup is to help a child transition from a bottle to a real cup, which means that these sippy cups are meant for temporary use only. However, because of their great features and handy design and because kids also like to use them, sippy cups are used for a prolonged period, often spanning several years.

In the home, a child may hold onto a sippy cup as form of comfort, just like holding a favorite toy. If the sippy cup is filled with the toddler’s favorite juice, it’s common for the child to suck on it for a long time to enjoy the beverage. But these are the perfect examples of how sippy cups wreak havoc in the child’s mouth.

When children use sippy cups for a prolonged period, the negative effects that can happen to their teeth are as follows.

1. Prolonged exposure to sugar. If the beverage inside the sippy cup is fruit juice or milk, the sugar in these drinks can increase the risk of tooth decay in kids.

2. Accumulation of bacteria. Some kids don’t let their parents wash their sippy cups, while some parents forget to wash them. Once the cup has come in contact with a child’s mouth, it becomes a conducive breeding ground for bacteria, especially if it has a straw. This can promote bacterial infection in the gums and teeth.

3. Pressure on teeth. The continuous sucking motion on sippy cups and baby bottles can push teeth backward and result in malalignment.

How Can You Avoid Sippy Cup Teeth Damage?

If you don’t want your child to have sippy cup teeth, here are the things you should do:

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1. Don’t let kids drink on the sippy cup for extended hours. Once the beverage inside the cup is all gone, take it away and wash it.

2. Only put water in the sippy cup. To keep kids from getting overexposed to sugar, only let them drink water from a sippy cup. If you’re giving fruit juice, use another kind of bottle like a sports drinking bottle or regular cup.

3. Don’t use sippy cups for night time milk. Some kids need a bottle of milk at night to fall asleep, but this is exactly the reason why they have bad teeth. Remember milk has lots of lactose, which is a form of sugar.

Every parent has to choose what type of cup they are going to use with their baby or toddler. However, most families aren’t aware that their choice can affect their child’s oral motor development. There are so many cup options in the market, it's hard for parents to determine which one is the right choice for their family. Here are a few developmental tips to consider when choosing between a sippy cup and a straw cup.

Lip Development: To decrease drooling or liquids escaping the mouth (and covering a clean shirt) your child needs to have an adequate lip seal. With an adequate lip seal both the upper lip and lower lip are able to contract.

• Lips with a Straw: A straw improves lip rounding, which is an essential movement for drinking and swallowing (and also for speech and language development!). The ezpz Mini Cup and Straw Training System (for infants + young toddlers) and the Happy Cup and Straw System (for older toddlers + preschoolers) have sensory bumps on the training straw. This important design feature provides tactile input to help children understand (and feel) precisely where their lips need to be placed for age-appropriate swallowing. 
• Lips with a Sippy cup: Most sippy cups promote an open-mouth, relaxed lip posture, which may negatively affect a child’s breathing, dentition, sleep and speech development.  

Tongue Development: Another essential movement is for the tongue to retract and elevate to the roof of the mouth. This is considered a mature and safe swallow when drinking. As you read this, swallow your saliva. Did you feel your tongue touching the roof of your mouth? Yes – that is exactly the mature swallow pattern we want our 6-month-old babies and toddlers to do!

• Tongue with a Straw: A straw improves tongue elevation and oral motor coordination. These movements help to improve your child’s swallowing skills and promote an appropriate resting position of the tongue. 
• Tongue with a Sippy Cup: A sippy cup encourages a tongue thrusting position, which is contraindicated – especially when we are trying to safely feed babies. One of the signs of readiness

Teeth Development: Teeth are not needed in order to drink safely. However, a parent's cup choice can impact the function, stability and development of a child’s teeth. 

• Teeth with a Straw: Keeping the lips toward the front of the straw is key for protecting teeth alignment. Proper lip placement will decrease tongue suckling and avoid any pressure that could negatively impact teeth development.
• Teeth with a Sippy Cup: Constant sippy cup use may lead to dental and speech issues. This is due to the tongue being placed in a forward position, which puts pressure on the upper teeth. This may cause the teeth to move forward and outward (i.e., misshape the oral cavity), which may lead to speech delays and difficulties chewing. If your baby or toddler swallows food whole, this may be one of the reasons why. 

In summary, a straw cup can help improve your child’s oral motor abilities, which are needed for advanced speech and feeding skills. If you feel your family is unable to ditch the sippy cup entirely, consider decreasing its daily use. And if you switch to our Mini Cup and Straw Training System, please tag us in your pics so we can share your straw success stories! #ezpzfun #MiniStraw.

Are you interested in learning more about Dental-Care Sippy Cup? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!