Soft drink logos on baby bottles encourage soda drinking

Parents who use baby bottles decorated with logos of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages are more likely to fill them with those cavity-causing drinks.

Studies show that parents who have bottles with the logos were four times more likely to give their children soda, juice, and uncarbonated sweet drinks like Kool Aid. Dentists say the logos will only encourage drinking the sugary liquids which can lead to baby bottle tooth decay--especially if parents put their child to bed with a bottle and the liquid pools in the child's mouth.

"Having that soda pop logo on a bottle is telling parents that it's all right to give that drink to their children," says Paula Jones, DDS, and spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry. "But if the child has teeth erupting, the acid and the sugar in soda or even juice can start decay at a very young age."

Along with causing tooth decay, parents should know that the sweetened beverages can curb a child's appetite, provide little nutritional value and frequently contain caffeine. The connection between baby bottle logos and the amount of sugary beverages children drink only reinforces the need for educating new mothers about bottle feeding.

"Bottles with logos certainly sends an improper message," says Dr. Jones. "Baby bottle tooth decay is a common problem, and now mothers have something new to contend with."