Rampant caries as a result of a bizarre food habit: a case report.

This is a case report of a preschool child in whom a b/zarre food habit resulted in total destruction of the primary dentition. The caries process was most likely initiated by the prolonged use of the nursing bottle until eighteen months of age. At the time of weaning, which was abrupt, the nursing bottle was replaced by bananas, which were retained in the child’s mouth day and night. This led to severe destruction of teeth, even obliterating the typical pattern of nursing caries. Treatment consisted of removal of all twenty primary teeth, followed by the placement of complete dentures with distal intragingival guideplanes. This case demonstrates not only an unusual food hablt with severe results, but also difficult treatment problems. Rampant caries associated with unusual food habits in young children has been described most frequently in association with the prolonged use of the nursing bottle. The purpose of this article is to report a case in which the bizarre habit of sucking bananas led to the rapid breakdown of the entire primary dentition at an early age.