Well my wife took our daughter to her second dentist visit. the first was when she was 3 and that one did not go so well, as the little one fussed and fumed. Okay so now she is 4 1/2 and they go to the dentist. We dont have insurance and this one offered a free exam.

Predictably the doctor says half her teeth are bad and she needs some sort of treatment. The doctor did clean them I think. Now my wife is freakin out because she fears she has not brushed the little one's teeth well and she gives her milk at night...

Obviously I need to make a few calls and find out what exactly the story is but I had some questions...

We let her drink milk from a sippy cup at night, before she goes to bed. She doesnt leave the bottle in the mouth, she just drinks it before she goes to bed then puts it aside. Sometime she has a bottle later in the middle of the night...How bad is this for teeth? I cannot figure this out from a google search as they say not to leave the bottle in but that's not what is happening..She brushes teeth, lays down, then drinks a bottle of choc. milk. We put very little choc in the milk.

I understand there is plaque on about half her teeth. Does this need to be cleaned on a regular basis? Or do some teeth simply get dirtier than others? I know I have teeth with ridges in them that tend to pick up plaque but they havent decayed, thank god for fluoride I guesss. What issues with plaque shoudl I be aware of?

Thank you.