Nuby toothbrush information insert

[Shell_Ell]

A friend of mine just bought an infant toothbrush set from Nuby (who also makes sippies, pacifiers and bottles) There is a paper insert with "information" about dental health. One of the paragraphs reads:

4. Important ways to prevent tooth decay...
Blah blah blah plaque forms from foods with bacteria and high sugar content...blah blah blah.

1. Liquids
Never nurse your child to sleep or put your baby to bed with a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or sweetened liquid. Use only water in the bottle, or give your baby a pacifier.

So. Not only are they telling parents not to nurse their child to sleep, but also to give their child a pacifier or bottle of water instead of nursing to sleep. Convienient considering the company makes bottles and pacifiers.

Letters? Addresses coming.

[Shell_Ell]

Luv n' care (Nuby's parent company) feedback http://www.luvncare.com/feedbackframe.htm

Luv n' care, Ltd
PO box 6050
Monroe, LA 71211

[Yulia_R]

At our 6months well-being appt. ped told us the same thing "Never nurse the baby to sleep or during the night because sugar from bm will destroy his teeth" :
Stupid idiot!

[Beeblebrox]

From what I've read from other mothers on this board it can and does happen. Not to all children who night-nurse, but to those with a predisposition to it. I worry about it for my DD as well. I know that nursing doesn't cause the pooling in the mouth that bottle feeding does, but the sugar in the milk, I worry can have a negative effect on the teeth. That doesn't mean I think it is so, it means I worry and I've read (from women here) that it can.

ETA: Course, we still night nurse .

[Shell_Ell]

I don't doubt that it happens, it just irritated me that a company that makes bottles was telling a nursing mother to give her baby a bottle of water or pacifier instead of nursing.

Maybe I'm wrong to be so irritated by it?

[Beeblebrox]

Originally Posted by Shell_Ell

I don't doubt that it happens, it just irritated me that a company that makes bottles was telling a nursing mother to give her baby a bottle of water or pacifier instead of nursing.

Maybe I'm wrong to be so irritated by it?

No you're not wrong. I think that is hindering the breastfeeding relationship because it's so across the board. Not all babies experience tooth decay due to breastfeeding. They obviously have a large $$interest in saying they do. So yes, I'd be annoyed too.

[Stephanie L.]

:

[CallMeMommy]

Originally Posted by Snooter

From what I've read from other mothers on this board it can and does happen. Not to all children who night-nurse, but to those with a predisposition to it. I worry about it for my DD as well. I know that nursing doesn't cause the pooling in the mouth that bottle feeding does, but the sugar in the milk, I worry can have a negative effect on the teeth. That doesn't mean I think it is so, it means I worry and I've read (from women here) that it can.

ETA: Course, we still night nurse .

I've also read that the natural (good) bacteria in breast milk will counteract any germs that cause decay. Can't remember where I read it though, maybe kellymom.

[MaryJaneLouise]

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html

Much research indicates that it's the other foods in baby's diet (rather than breastmilk) that tend to be the main problem when it comes to tooth decay. The 1999 Erickson study (in which healthy teeth were immersed in different solutions) indicated that breastmilk alone was practically identical to water and did not cause tooth decay - another experiment even indicated that the teeth became stronger when immersed in breastmilk. However, when a small amount of sugar was added to the breastmilk, the mixture was worse than a sugar solution when it came to causing tooth decay. This study emphasizes the importance of tooth brushing and good dental hygiene.

Long story short -- brush your child's teeth before night time sleep / night nursing. It's the other food particles that cause the problem.