Mothering Forum banner

Dental bone loss from extended breastfeeding?

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  pokeyac 
#1 ·
Has anyone experienced dental bone loss from extended breastfeeding? I'm currently nursing my 20 mo old DS (he's my 4 baby and I nursed my others till 2.5 yrs average). I've always had a hard time getting enough calcium/magnesium while breastfeeding. But this time it's extra hard because DS is so big!


I was recently told at the dentist after a cleaning that I have the beginning of bone loss :frown: I guess I need to eat 2 servings of dairy a day now. I could feel something was "off" lately because my jaw/teeth ache but this explains why
 
#2 ·
Do you eat meat? There is a dental forum on here and I've read info there that eating grass-fed meat, grass-fed butter and cod liver oil can help strengthen your teeth. It's interesting. I was a vegetarian for 20 years and I have terrible troubles with my teeth. I eat meat now but it's still a struggle. I'm adding grass fed butter to my diet to see if that helps in addition to the other things I do.
 
#4 ·
Ok, so. What causes dental bone loss? Generally, it is caused by periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is usually the result of not flossing daily. Do you floss daily? Did you have a full set of x-rays? If so, your dentist would see bone loss on the periapical views. If there were no x-rays taken, the dentist could not diagnose bone loss (unless your teeth were extremely mobile!). (Side point, in almost every US state, hygienists are unqualified to diagnose anything, including periodontal disease and bone loss. There are a very few exceptions to this standard.)

Can bone loss occur in the absence of periodontal disease? Yes. Do you have any missing teeth (other than wisdom teeth)? In areas of missing teeth, bone loss can occur because pressure is not being put on the bone. Think of this in terms of women being told to do weight bearing exercises to prevent osteoporosis. It's the principle of "use it or lose it". It is also possible to lose bone as a result of auto-immune malfunction.

Pregnancy and lactation can lower bone mineral density. The size of the baby you are nursing probably has nothing to do with it. If I did my maths correctly, you've so far spent about 9 years nursing, assuming no tandem nursing. Is that alone enough to cause dental bone loss? Maybe, maybe not. What about the bones in the rest of your body? Is your bone loss generalized across the entire skeleton? FWIW, I spent a total of 7 years nursing and I have no dental bone loss at all. I haven't been to a physician in about a decade so I have no idea about the rest of my body, but I had a full mouth series of x-rays a couple of months ago and my bone level is just where it should be, and I had terrible nutrition during both of my pregnancies.

Do you need to eat dairy? Absolutely not. Milk is for babies and cow milk is for cow babies. Adult humans do not need milk products, especially non-human milk. If you like milk, drink it full fat. Raw is always best. If you like cheese, eat. Hard cheese is great for you teeth because it is virtually sugar free. Eat it after something substantive (sticky on the teeth) like candy or bread. Eat it after anything acidic like coffee or lemonade to neutralize the pH in your mouth. Don't like dairy? Get calcium from any other source you like.

Bone loss can't be reversed but it can be halted. Brush with a soft bristled brush, avoid fluoride like the plague, floss daily even if you have to lock your 4 kiddos in a closet for 5 minutes to get it done. :grin: Bottom line, if you have a 99% sugar-free diet and you are an OCD flossing freak, yeah maybe lactation is to "blame". But the truth is, we moms don't always take the time we need to care for ourselves properly, so this is probably due to much more than simply breastfeeding. Bottle feeding mamas are just as likely to neglect their health and hygiene. Maybe even more so as bottles take more time to clean and prepare than just plopping into a chair and pulling out a boob.

Feel free to ask any questions of me, and if you didn't have x-rays, definitely ask your dentist upon what basis this diagnosis is being made.

Best wishes,
BWB
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top