[KERIC]

Sorry

, Didnt mean to be so blunt, I took my 21 mo old ds to the dentist today and he handed me this........

From the AAPD (pediatric Dentistry) 11994

"The risk of devastating nursing-pattern dental decay exists for the breast-fed child as it does for the bottle-fed child and is relate to extended and repetitive feeding times with prolonged exposure of erupted teeth to fermentable carbohydrate without appropriate oral hygiene measures"

There is also another piece under Baby bottle tooth decay -1996

Under recommendations"

Ad-libitum nocturnal breastfeeding should be avoided after the first primary tooth begins to erupt" My son got his first 2 bottom teeth at 3 mos!

I'd like to know where this AAPD gets its "common sense" info. Is there anything updated?. Will type more about his visit later

Thanx a bunch!

 

[radish]

thanks for this. dd has a couple white spots and i thought ONLY bottle-fed babies get decay. did some research last night andsounds like it can be genetic and/or from BF too

 

[malamamama]

Read on here Mamas! There's tons of info right here on this forum regarding this. If you don't have a good dental hygeine routine happening from the get go, ANYTHING can be a culprit of decay, breastmilk included. BUT, in and of itself breastfeeding and breastmilk is not the issue. Weaning is not the answer to dental problems. As spoken by the best dentist on the planet!!!!

What is genetic is the deep crevices in molars that can be impossible to reach with a toothbrush. However, the bacteria that is responsible for decay can be passed from one mouth to the other via utensils, food-sharing, and kisses. So this might be mis-construed as inherited, but not really.
Brush, brush, brush and read, read, read!!!

 

[MamiD'2]

I have had two different experiences with two different (female) pediatric dentists. The first encouraged, in not so many words, that ds should wean (this wen he was about 24 months) to prevent any decay.

The second was with her partner. She didn't seem so concerned, but encouraged to brush more often. She said there wasn't really any negative outcomes w/nursing for extended nurslings (speaking about dental issues). "If you do a lot of one (referring to nursing), just do more of the other (referring to brushing)."

 

[Smilemomma]

I second Malamamama's recommendations. ("on the planet"?? Wowie

)

And Keric, tell that dentist to get himself a little more up to date. Here you go:

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Policy on breastfeeding
Adopted 1983
Revised 1990, 1994, 2000

"The potential for early childhood caries exists for the breast-fed child and is related to the extended and repetitive feeding times with prolonged exposure of teeth to fermentable carbohydrate without appropriate oral hygiene measures. The AAPD recognizes the need for further scientific research regarding the effects of breastfeeding and the consumption of human milk on dentofacial growth and oral health."

Not the most supportive statement, but not bad either. At least they're acknowledging that they need to look into it further.

It's all about the oral hygiene.

 

[alie]

I have to respectfully disagree that it's "all" about the oral hygiene. My son bfed up to 2 yrs and had some decay, while my daughter bfed the same amount of time and did not. They both had the same amount of oral hygiene. The difference was my son bfed to sleep, while my daughter would bfeed, fall asleep and I'd take her off the breast (Id fall asleep while bfeeding with my son). It may also be genetic (I am highly susceptible to decay, my husband is not, perhaps my son inherited my poopy teeth genes)but, in my limited subject study--only 2 subjects--, oral hygiene was NOT the determining factor. With this limited data, probably inconclusive as to the whys, except the identical hygiene which would rule that one out. Also, as I've noted in another thread, the decay which I mentioned on my son, is now self correcting. Weird but true. So go figure.

 

[Smilemomma]

Dawdler nursers are a big topic in "Told to wean?", a thread on the dental archives. It's a matter of how long the milk pools on the teeth, so also in a roundabout way, the oral hygiene. If you could have brushed the milk off (I know, no way in the middle of the night!), it may have been the same exposure time.

 

[alie]

Thanks smilemomma, I was just thinking the same thing last night as I pondered the teeth situation. I will reference the thread, I appreciate the info vy much.

 

[Smilemomma]

 

[malamamama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alie (I am highly susceptible to decay, my husband is not, perhaps my son inherited my poopy teeth genes)

Could it be that you have a higher number of smutans bacteria in your mouth and your husband does not?

 

[alie]

There ya go, although with that explanation, I dont know if dh -or anyone- would want to kiss me anymore!!

 

[malamamama]

IKWYM! I had my first two cavities in over 30 years after I met dh! So now I think about it everytime I kiss him!!!!! lol

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