Breastfeeding May Cause Tooth Decay
In my 50 Things I Wish I Knew About Breastfeeding I mentioned that breastfeeding causes tooth decay, while this may not be the case for everyone, it was the case for my family. I’d always heard that if you breastfed your baby they wouldn’t get cavities and boy was I shocked when I discovered this wasn’t always true.
I was constantly brushing my child’s teeth so I was shocked one day when I spotted a stain on the back of her tooth. I tried brushing it off thinking that it was just me seeing something like a shadow or something but it wasn’t. I called the dentist and they said to come in. When they saw her they looked at the back of her teeth and told me sometimes babies simply got a stain on the back of their teeth, nothing to worry about. I went back a few months later, not satisfied by this and same thing. It only seemed to get worse and finally they saw what I had been, sure enough it was now tooth decay.
The dentist explained to me that sometimes, even though it was rare, babies could get tooth decay from breastfeeding. I explained how I was always told this COULD NOT happen and he said everything depends. How often you feed, if you feed at night, etc. Apparently, according to him, since she was one that would latch on at night and sleep through the night constantly eating it was staying in there too long and it did eventually cause the tooth decay.
I’ve learned my lesson, while I still feed at night I make sure not to let them leave it in there. Meaning I make sure to stay awake long enough to pull the nipple out of his mouth. So far, I have not seen the “stain” as the dentist had originally called it, I did however with my third child. During the day I give him a bottle of water or a sip of mine to make sure his mouth gets rinsed out while he is awake.
Did any of you experience tooth decay with your children that were breastfed?
Tags: Breastfeeding, tooth decayRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Breastfeeding
4 opinions for Breastfeeding May Cause Tooth Decay
Michelle
Mar 6, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I’ve heard of this before. If they fall asleep while eating, they can lay there with a little bit in their mouth - it’s similar to what would happen if they fall asleep with a bottle.
Luckily my kids had no trouble with this. Phew.
Maria
Mar 6, 2008 at 9:43 pm
New research has found that breastmilk not only contains the sugars but another chemical which neutralizes that sugar. Weak enamel, genetic predisposition, etc are much more likely causes in most, but not all cases.
MomOnTheGo
Mar 6, 2008 at 10:11 pm
My daughter got cavities between her front two teeth. She liked to sleep and nurse. The dentist recommended brushing her teeth after she nursed or, at least, swishing with water after she was done nursing. We did that if she didn’t fall asleep while nursing but not in the middle of the night.
It’s tough to see a flaw on your baby’s beautiful teeth, isn’t it?
Maria
Mar 6, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Sorry– I failed to answer the question at the end. We night nurse due to reverse cycling, but I also brush his teeth after his last non-BM food of the night, as that is the leading cause of tooth decay. My son is just 14.5 months, but so far his teeth look good.
Kellymom.com has a good summary of some of the research that is out “there.” http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html
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