The Bad Breath Bible

Battling Baby's Bad Breath

If you have recently become a parent, you are likely spending your days worrying about things you never even thought about before. Every time your baby makes a new noise, you wonder if something is wrong or if you should be concerned. One new aspect of your baby that catches most parents off guard is baby's bad breath. Babies are just like you and me; they can get bad breath even before they have teeth. Let's take a look at just a few common causes of bad breath in babies and see how they can be solved.

In most cases, the main cause of a baby's bad breath is a lack of saliva. Just like morning breath can be caused by us sleeping with our mouths open, the same can be true for our baby. If you notice that your baby is sleeping with his or her mouth open, lightly close it and they will start breathing out of their nose. You should notice in the morning that their bad breath has been significantly reduced. If you are leaving a bottle in the crib with them refrain from that practice. Even a bottle with nothing but water can cause tooth decay before teeth are present in the mouth and can also be a chief cause of bad breath. It may be a hard switch initially, but your baby will get used to it.

If your baby has been sucking on their thumb quite a bit lately, this can also cause bad breath because it results in a drier mouth with less saliva. In general, mom and dad should limit thumb sucking because it can cause teeth to come in at unhealthy angles. Babies thumbs can be a harbor for germs as well, so trying to eliminate that habit could lead to eliminating the resulting bad breath. It can be difficult at first, but your pediatrician may have suggestions on how to limit the thumb sucking process.

If your baby has developed a 'Maggie Simpson' level of dependence on a pacifier or other sucking toy, this can also be a major cause for a baby's bad breath. There is a reason why doctors tell us to sanitize and boil nipples on bottles and pacifiers: they are very susceptible to germs. These germs can not only cause serious health problems for baby but they can also cause bad breath. Make sure anything that goes into your baby's mouth is free of germs and you will cut down on the instances of bad breath.

Finally, if you have tried all of the above solutions and your child's bad breath continues, take them to the doctor for an exam. In some cases, bad breath can be a sign of different illnesses including a serious condition such as mouth cancer. It can also be a sign that your baby has digestive problems that are causing odors to come up from the stomach and out of the mouth. These cases are rare so make sure you exhaust all of the options stated above before you even consider a worst case scenario.