First of all, don't blame yourself- it's happened, so now is time to deal with it. Early Childhood Caries (ECC) stems from several factors, including the type of bacteria mama has in her mouth. We naturally pass bacteria to our children, both the good and the bad kind. If you've dealt with a lot of cavities yourself, it's a good bet your children inherited the strep mutans from you.
Breastmilk is fairly neutral for teeth. Your dentist might give you a hard time, it depends what dentist you talk to. Some might say night nursing plays a role, others wouldn't.
The first thing to do is get to the dentist and get those teeth taken care of. Other things to do- eliminate juice, especially apple juice. It is sticky and coats the teeth. Raisins and fruit leather are also sticky.
You should start chewing xylitol gum. You can find it at natural foods stores. Xylitol is a sweetener that neutralizes acid in the mouth- healthy and tasty.
This is just to start- there's lots of information out there. Our society has some horrible stereotypes about children with ECC, and they're not always true. It can happen to anyone. So please don't get hung up with guilt- you know that doesn't help. Just go to the dentist and start from there. Good luck.
