Sippy cup decay describes cavities linked to a sippy cup that gets sipped from all day long.

In kid words

"When your cup rides around with you all day, all those little sips add up, so let's finish your drink and then switch to water." Say it as easily as you'd announce snack time, since there's nothing alarming in it. The idea is just giving your teeth a little break between drinks, the same way you take breaks between snacks.

The parent version

Sippy cup decay is not a formal diagnosis. It's the everyday name some parents and dental teams use for the same early tooth decay described elsewhere as early childhood caries, in this case linked to a sippy cup rather than a bottle. The sippy cup's own design, spill-proof and easy for small hands to carry, is exactly what makes it so easy to sip from for hours rather than finish at one sitting.

Mainstream guidance points less at what is in the cup and more at how long it stays there: a drink that empties during snack time barely touches teeth compared with the same drink carried around and sipped every few minutes for hours, since it's the total time sugar spends against enamel that matters most. Offering water for the in-between stretches, and keeping juice or milk to set times at the table, covers most of what mainstream sources recommend. Anything more specific to your child's own routine is worth asking your pediatric dentist about.

Where you might hear it at our office

Sippy cup habits are a normal part of the conversation at infant dental care visits, right alongside first brushing routines and bottle weaning. It's an unhurried conversation, never a scorecard, and the point is simply to notice small shifts before they become bigger ones.

If another phrase from a visit sent you searching, the rest of the Kids' Dental Dictionary is right here too.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside sippy cup decay: baby bottle decay, cavity, enamel.