Question:
We took ds into the dentist with us today while we went in for our
regular cleanings, to have the dentist check out a tooth of ds' I was
concerned about. At first ds was nursing when the dentist came in, and
he gave the spiel about patients of his having the baby in the bed
nursing all night and that the condition of the baby's teeth was
horrific, blah blah blah. Ds' teeth are basically fine, one tooth that
may go in a certain direction if we're not careful (we are careful, have
been brushing since first tooth erupted, we brush 1-2 x per day, floss a
few times a week, no juice, no sweet stickies, etc.) but certainly not
the horrors the dentist was expecting.
Anyway, can someone point me to some resources for the more current info
on bf and tooth decay? You guys know the stuff I'm looking for, info
about the antibodies in the breastmilk, about the placement of the
nipple at the back of the mouth, about the milk not dripping out
uncontrolled like a bottle, about cleaning the teeth so there's nothing
for the milk to react with in the mouth. I know one of you must have a
concise list of legitimate info bookmarked.
I'd like to casually drop off some info to the dentist's office, maybe
help change his focus to something a bit more helpful should someone
come in with a co-sleeping/bf baby with problems.
Answer:
I don't have any links to give you. But I can tell you that your dentist is
essentially right. Night nursing after your child has teeth and is on solids
can be an issue if your child has weak tooth enamel. Forget the whole
antibiotic thing or the placement of the nipple of the mouth. What it all
comes down to is the fact that night nursing can contribute to dental caries.
Hey, I didn't want to believe it either. And my pediatric dentist said that
for many of the night nursers, it will not be a problem. But for some, it can
lead to rapid decay. My daughter nursed at night. We brushed her teeth before
bedtime. We wiped down her teeth after night feedings. She has two crowns and
6 fillings, all upper teeth. Needless to say, I have changed my view of
breastfeeding as being an unblemished miracle food. Bfing is wonderful for the
child, but it won't protect them from everything.
There are a couple other posters on the newsgroup who will reiterate what I
have just said, but they might have some references too.
And my dentist and the wonderful lactation nurse at the local mother/baby
support group both said the same thing. They didn't tell me to stop nursing.
They told me to stop night nursing.
Here are several URLs, along with some quotes. They mainly address
long-term bfing, rather than night-nursing specifically, but the
dental concerns are the same.
http://www.bflrc.com/ljs/myths/dentalca.htm
is an excellent piece from the Bright Futures Lactation Resource
Center, entitled "Extended Breastfeeding Non-Risk #2: Dental Caries"
This is a brief question & answer piece from a lactation consultant,
regarding whether nursing can cause decay:
http://www.parentsplace.com/expert/lactation/qas/0,10338,166661_106365
,00.html
They also used to have a piece on night-nursing, but I haven't been
able to find it since they re-organised their webpages :-/
This PDF is from the National Institute of Health:
http://www.smiles4kids.com/articles/STREPTOCOCCUS.PDF
and states:
"Population-based studies do not support a definitive link between
prolonged breast-feeding and caries. Besides bacteria, diet and oral
hygiene are major factors in ECC. Breast-feeding long has been
implicated in the disease; as late as last year, research abstracts
claimed that prolonged nursing-particularly at night-was a risk factor
for this disease. However, population-based studies do not support a
definitive link between prolonged breast-feeding and caries.
Many children develop decay unrelated to breast-feeding, and human
breast milk does not cause a significant drop in plaque pH, nor does
it cause enamel decalcification. In fact, in a study using enamel
powder, calcium and phosphate were deposited onto the enamel when
breast milk was present. However, when supplemented with 10 percent
sucrose, breast milk caused caries in 3.2 weeks.
However, Swedish researchers found that children still being
breast-fed at 18 months of age were more likely to have caries,
compared with those no longer breast-fed. But the children with caries
also had significantly more cariogenic bacteria in their mouths and
ate significantly more cariogenic foods. 14 As with most complex
conditions, ascribing a cause to only one factor is oversimplifying
the issue, and usually is short-sighted."
http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/caries.htm
This is a set of notes & printable slides from a dentist who makes
many good points,
including:
"Prehistoric skulls, on the other hand, have/had minimal
decay in their teeth. They did not have the benefit of fluoride
either. Since breastfeeding was the only way of nurturing infants in
the past, breastfeeding cannot be accused of causing dental decay
today."
and:
"In discussions with anthropologists, veterinarians, mammalogists and
biochemists, they cannot believe that anyone is actually accusing
breastfeeding of causing decay. It is not scientifically reasonable
for a natural process like breastfeeding to cause teeth to decay. If
infants lost their teeth in the past they would die because of their
inability to chew food. They could have died as well from the possible
infections that could have occurred when the teeth abscessed. That did
not happen in the past."
and:
"There are 4640 species of mammals (Olaf Oftedal - National Zoological
Park in DC). Humans are but one of those species. Isn't it strange
that only the human specie has infants with decay in their teeth? Does
that mean that the female of the human specie has inferior breastmilk
compared to all other species? Mammals in the wild rarely have
deciduous decay. Domesticated animals sometimes get decay - but that
is mainly due to the fact that they are given food processed by
humans."
