Healthier Teeth For Your Baby's Future Take care early to protect your baby's teeth. There are things you can take before the baby is born and during the baby's early years to build strong teeth, keep them healthy, and teach good habits. Before Your Baby Is Born What you eat when you are pregnant is important. Eating right will help you and your growing baby stay healthy. Follow your doctor's advice for eating the right foods and taking vitamins.  It's also time to think about how you'll feed your baby. Remember, breast-feeding is best! Protect Your Baby's Teeth with Fluoride Fluoride (said like floor-eyed) protects teeth from tooth decay and helps heal early decay. Fluoride is already in the drinking water of many towns and cities.  Ask your dentist or doctor if your water has fluoride in it. If it doesn't, talk with your dentist or doctor if you need to add other sources of fluoride for your baby, such as prescription drops.  Check and Clean Your Baby's Teeth Healthy teeth should be all one color. If you see spots or stains on the teeth, take your baby to your dentist. As soon as they come in, use a clean, soft cloth or a baby's toothbrush. Clean the teeth at least once a day. It's best to clean them right before bedtime. Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Do not put your baby to bed with a bottle at night or at naptime. (If you put your baby to bed with a bottle, fill it only with water.) Milk, formula, juices, and other sweet drinks such as soda all have sugar in them. Sucking on a bottle filled with liquids that have sugar in them can cause tooth decay. Decayed teeth can cause pain and can cost a lot to fill. During the day, do not give your baby a bottle filled with sweet drinks to use like a pacifier. If your baby uses a pacifier, do not dip it in anything sweet like sugar or honey. Near his/her first birthday, you should teach your child to drink from a cup instead of a bottle. Take Your Child to the Dentist Ask your dentist when to bring your child in for his first visit. Usually, the dentist will want to see a child between ages 1 and 2. At this first visit, your dentist can quickly check your child's teeth.