February is Children’s Dental Health Month nationwide. The theme of this year’s event is “Choose Tap Water for a Sparkling Smile.”

Colleen Sullivan, dental coordinator with the Bartholomew County Health Department, explains that she is seeing a lot of problems with children and young adults that are drinking a lot of sports drinks and soda.

She explains the danger from the sugary drinks is that the acid levels can lead to tooth decay in a very short period of time.

Even young children are in danger, if they are drinking a lot of fruit juice. She suggested limiting fruit juice to four ounces a day for toddlers, served only with meals and that should be given in a cup, rather than a bottle.

In fact, she said that you should never put a baby down for a nap with a bottle filled with anything but water. And you should try to get children off of a bottle by the age of 1 to help protect their teeth.

She says that you should never put an infant down for a nap with a bottle, unless it contains water.

The health department is stressing the importance of limiting snacks, brushing and flossing and other dental health hygiene. For more information you can call the health department at 812-379-1555 and hit Option 1.