Both of my children had horrible enamel issues as toddlers. Their teeth were crumbly in areas and very decayed. The decay started around 9-12 months and continued until they had fillings in place around 2 years. Both had to go under general anesthesia for these issues. Now I have a 2 month old and I'm hoping to prevent this problem from happening to him.
A little backstory:
When I was growing up, my emerging adult teeth were badly discolored (this corrected by an abrasive procedure at 13, but they are still yellow). My mother said that she thinks it had to do with a medication she took while she was pregnant. Her OB told her that it might cause dental issues in the baby (who was me).
I'm wondering if their enamel issues are some sort of generational gene mutation caused by my mother's medication. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember what medication it was, but I think it was an antibiotic or maybe an STI treatment.
If their enamel issues can be blamed on my mother's medication, is there anything I can do to prevent it from hurting this little one? If it isn't caused by the medication, what can I do to prevent it? I'm starting to wonder if fluoride is really the demon that people say it is. FYI, my kids were all breastfed on demand and cosleepers. I've also avoided fluoride in water and toothpaste. Our family diets have changed between kids, but we eat very few grains and mostly fruits/veggies as well as lots of free-range meat, eggs, pasture butter, and raw milk (this has been our diet for the past 3 or so years). The only drinks we typically have are filtered water, raw milk, and more recently iced tea (which i understand tea does contain fluoride- it would be our only source).
Edit:
My kids are 6 1/2(DS), almost 4(DD), and 2 1/2 mo (DS). My older son has 4 adult teeth which all appear to be normal. Neither has seen a dentist since their dental work was completed (at 2.5 years for DS and 2 years for DD- her enamel issues were worse at a younger age).
I'm also wondering if anyone knows what specific strains of bacteria are beneficial oral flora? Apparently most strains of lactobacilli are not beneficial (or so say the dentists- I find this hard to believe considering how prevalent lactobacilli are in healthy foods like yogurt and on fruits and veggies), while I find hints that certain strains of bacteria kill S.mutans, but I can't find any specifics (and asking the dentist was a fruitless venture). Any ideas?
A little backstory:
When I was growing up, my emerging adult teeth were badly discolored (this corrected by an abrasive procedure at 13, but they are still yellow). My mother said that she thinks it had to do with a medication she took while she was pregnant. Her OB told her that it might cause dental issues in the baby (who was me).
I'm wondering if their enamel issues are some sort of generational gene mutation caused by my mother's medication. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember what medication it was, but I think it was an antibiotic or maybe an STI treatment.
If their enamel issues can be blamed on my mother's medication, is there anything I can do to prevent it from hurting this little one? If it isn't caused by the medication, what can I do to prevent it? I'm starting to wonder if fluoride is really the demon that people say it is. FYI, my kids were all breastfed on demand and cosleepers. I've also avoided fluoride in water and toothpaste. Our family diets have changed between kids, but we eat very few grains and mostly fruits/veggies as well as lots of free-range meat, eggs, pasture butter, and raw milk (this has been our diet for the past 3 or so years). The only drinks we typically have are filtered water, raw milk, and more recently iced tea (which i understand tea does contain fluoride- it would be our only source).
Edit:
My kids are 6 1/2(DS), almost 4(DD), and 2 1/2 mo (DS). My older son has 4 adult teeth which all appear to be normal. Neither has seen a dentist since their dental work was completed (at 2.5 years for DS and 2 years for DD- her enamel issues were worse at a younger age).
I'm also wondering if anyone knows what specific strains of bacteria are beneficial oral flora? Apparently most strains of lactobacilli are not beneficial (or so say the dentists- I find this hard to believe considering how prevalent lactobacilli are in healthy foods like yogurt and on fruits and veggies), while I find hints that certain strains of bacteria kill S.mutans, but I can't find any specifics (and asking the dentist was a fruitless venture). Any ideas?
