Cayden has some tooth decay on his upper teeth. Some of his enamel is now gone and he has brown spots. He has one tooth that has chipped at the bottom edge, either from an accident or from being a weak tooth (not sure which one)
I'll back track a bit:
I took him to a pediatric dentist after he was one year old because he had a couple white spots and the start of a brown spot. They were concerned that I hadn't been in sooner and VERY concerned that I wasn't using fluoride toothpaste. They were very shocked at the condition of his teeth and didn't believe me when I told them that we brushed his teeth twice a day. They had me very worried and feeling guilty, so I let them put a fluoride varnish on his teeth to help repair 'the damage' that I had caused through neglecting the care of his teeth. The varnish was a 3 appointment type varnish, so I had to see them 2 more times within 10 days. While at the visits I mentioned Xylitol, which they had never heard of, as well as Cayden's many allergies (Dairy, Soy and Wheat) to which they were somewhat surprised but happy that I was still nursing him (remember he was only 14 months old at the time) But they strongly urged me to night wean him. Or keep a wet cloth by the bed to wipe his teeth with after each feeding. That of course seems completely ridiculous to me since Cayden still nurses to sleep. I brought up the fact that it could be genetic, and they didn't seem to think so. I brought up that it could be my saliva getting into his mouth (through sharing a banana or spoon or something) and my bacteria doing damage and they didn't seem to think so.
We have been to that pediatric dentist 3 times and since starting flouride toothpaste, receiving the flouride varnish and brushing 'well' to their standards, Cayden's teeth have gotten much worse. So now we are at the point where some enamel is gone, there are major brown spots and there is that mysterious chip on one tooth.
We have just started bringing him to a naturopath about his allergies and about the tooth decay. I wanted them to help heal and stop in its tracks, what is happening to his teeth. So far that has been good, we are giving him homeopathics, probiotics and vitamin D (which is something we didn't give until recently and I think part of the reason he may have weak teeth)
It is believed that Cayden's allergies might be affecting his teeth, so we are trying to heal his gut.
But here's the kicker, the naturopath wants me to night wean. He doesn't want me to wean completely, but he doesn't want breast milk touching Cayden's teeth at night and sitting on them. He doesn't say that the bm has caused the problem, but he says that its not helping the situation.
So I feel kinda stuck in the middle. Cayden is almost 2, so I know it wouldn't be a hug bad thing to night wean. If it is making the decay worse, then I don't want to keep doing it. But I wanted to wait to night wean until Cayden could understand 'no nursing until it's light out', I was liking the gradual, less and less waking to nurse. He doesn't get sick too often, and I think it's because of all the nursing.
To wean or not wean? (nightwean only)
I'll back track a bit:
I took him to a pediatric dentist after he was one year old because he had a couple white spots and the start of a brown spot. They were concerned that I hadn't been in sooner and VERY concerned that I wasn't using fluoride toothpaste. They were very shocked at the condition of his teeth and didn't believe me when I told them that we brushed his teeth twice a day. They had me very worried and feeling guilty, so I let them put a fluoride varnish on his teeth to help repair 'the damage' that I had caused through neglecting the care of his teeth. The varnish was a 3 appointment type varnish, so I had to see them 2 more times within 10 days. While at the visits I mentioned Xylitol, which they had never heard of, as well as Cayden's many allergies (Dairy, Soy and Wheat) to which they were somewhat surprised but happy that I was still nursing him (remember he was only 14 months old at the time) But they strongly urged me to night wean him. Or keep a wet cloth by the bed to wipe his teeth with after each feeding. That of course seems completely ridiculous to me since Cayden still nurses to sleep. I brought up the fact that it could be genetic, and they didn't seem to think so. I brought up that it could be my saliva getting into his mouth (through sharing a banana or spoon or something) and my bacteria doing damage and they didn't seem to think so.
We have been to that pediatric dentist 3 times and since starting flouride toothpaste, receiving the flouride varnish and brushing 'well' to their standards, Cayden's teeth have gotten much worse. So now we are at the point where some enamel is gone, there are major brown spots and there is that mysterious chip on one tooth.
We have just started bringing him to a naturopath about his allergies and about the tooth decay. I wanted them to help heal and stop in its tracks, what is happening to his teeth. So far that has been good, we are giving him homeopathics, probiotics and vitamin D (which is something we didn't give until recently and I think part of the reason he may have weak teeth)
It is believed that Cayden's allergies might be affecting his teeth, so we are trying to heal his gut.
But here's the kicker, the naturopath wants me to night wean. He doesn't want me to wean completely, but he doesn't want breast milk touching Cayden's teeth at night and sitting on them. He doesn't say that the bm has caused the problem, but he says that its not helping the situation.
So I feel kinda stuck in the middle. Cayden is almost 2, so I know it wouldn't be a hug bad thing to night wean. If it is making the decay worse, then I don't want to keep doing it. But I wanted to wait to night wean until Cayden could understand 'no nursing until it's light out', I was liking the gradual, less and less waking to nurse. He doesn't get sick too often, and I think it's because of all the nursing.
To wean or not wean? (nightwean only)