Do asthma medicines contribute to tooth decay in toddlers?

i have read mixed reviews on the site, has anyone had the same experience using inhalers? also, my son takes a lot of antibiotics and tylenol which are very sweet. My son has 5 cavities and he is 3 and the dentist says it is because of all the medicine he is having.

Do asthma medicines contribute to tooth decay in toddlers?
My daughter's allergist told me the meds to contribute to tooth decay. In fact on my daughter's pulmacort medicine packet it specifically says to brush your teeth and rinse mouth thoroughly after you use the inhaler. Also, when I brought her for her dentist cleaning, the hygenist said she was surprised how good my daughter's teeth looked where she had asthma, she said most kids on asthma meds have a ton of cavities. Same thing for kids that are on antibiotics constantly.





Hope this helps!
Reply:It is advisable to rinse the child's mouth after using inhalers, not just because of the teeth but the meds settle on the skin and can contribute to infections including thrush in the mouth. Don't freak out if you forget its a precautionary measure!





It's not just the meds which can damage teeth, I have 2 boys with asthma but neither have dental cavities!


It's also that the body can be so busy trying to stay well that it doesn't channel the nutrition to the teeth, children wth heart disease and other illness often struggle with having healthy teeth.


Try using a good vitamin supplement to help boost immunity and discuss whether a calcium supplement would be useful. Dont do it if not necessary, too much of anything isn't good in the end!


Look too at whether to sooth his discomfort at illness you gave him juice or milk to fall asleep with in a bottle, this is common cause of tooth decay and is a perfectly normal mistake for a parent to make.





You can fix it for his second teeth which are more important, so well done for looking into it now.





Best of luck.