Breastfeeding May Cause Tooth Decay
March 6, 2008 by Eliza Ferree
Filed under Breastfeeding
In my 50 Things I Wish I Knew About Breastfeeding I mentioned that breastfeeding causes tooth decay, while this may not be the case for everyone, it was the case for my family. I’d always heard that if you breastfed your baby they wouldn’t get cavities and boy was I shocked when I discovered this wasn’t always true.
I was constantly brushing my child’s teeth so I was shocked one day when I spotted a stain on the back of her tooth. I tried brushing it off thinking that it was just me seeing something like a shadow or something but it wasn’t. I called the dentist and they said to come in. When they saw her they looked at the back of her teeth and told me sometimes babies simply got a stain on the back of their teeth, nothing to worry about. I went back a few months later, not satisfied by this and same thing. It only seemed to get worse and finally they saw what I had been, sure enough it was now tooth decay.
The dentist explained to me that sometimes, even though it was rare, babies could get tooth decay from breastfeeding. I explained how I was always told this COULD NOT happen and he said everything depends. How often you feed, if you feed at night, etc. Apparently, according to him, since she was one that would latch on at night and sleep through the night constantly eating it was staying in there too long and it did eventually cause the tooth decay.
I’ve learned my lesson, while I still feed at night I make sure not to let them leave it in there. Meaning I make sure to stay awake long enough to pull the nipple out of his mouth. So far, I have not seen the “stain” as the dentist had originally called it, I did however with my third child. During the day I give him a bottle of water or a sip of mine to make sure his mouth gets rinsed out while he is awake.
Did any of you experience tooth decay with your children that were breastfed?
I’ve heard of this before. If they fall asleep while eating, they can lay there with a little bit in their mouth – it’s similar to what would happen if they fall asleep with a bottle.
Luckily my kids had no trouble with this. Phew.
New research has found that breastmilk not only contains the sugars but another chemical which neutralizes that sugar. Weak enamel, genetic predisposition, etc are much more likely causes in most, but not all cases.
My daughter got cavities between her front two teeth. She liked to sleep and nurse. The dentist recommended brushing her teeth after she nursed or, at least, swishing with water after she was done nursing. We did that if she didn’t fall asleep while nursing but not in the middle of the night.
It’s tough to see a flaw on your baby’s beautiful teeth, isn’t it?
Sorry– I failed to answer the question at the end. We night nurse due to reverse cycling, but I also brush his teeth after his last non-BM food of the night, as that is the leading cause of tooth decay. My son is just 14.5 months, but so far his teeth look good.
Kellymom.com has a good summary of some of the research that is out “there.” http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html
My daughter has a little darkening of her front teeth and you bet I will be taking her to the dentist ASAP. I breastfeed her during the night, and researched to see if dental caries are attributed to that. Breastfeeding at night is NOT a cause of dental caries. Breastmilk contains lactoferrin, which helps to coat the enamel and protects against the bacteria that cause the dental decay. Cases where it COULD be is if the child has something to eat with sugars in it and then is breastfed through the night. That actually speeds up decay.
One way that children CAN get decay is when a caregiver or parent or someone else who has the bacteria responsible (strep mucins, I think) in their mouth gives it to the baby somehow, either through chewing the baby’s food for them, sharing utensils, water, etc. Stress during pregnancy also seems to contribute to dental caries in infants. http://www.kellymom.com has some good research about this on the Website.
I have experienced this with my 4th child who was breastfed until 2yrs old (not alot but was still feeding at 2) and he has the start of decay between his two front teeth , it is really awful to think that you are responsible for it happening by trying to give them the best start in life by being all ‘natural’. I am sure this is what caused it as none of my other sons had it and 2 were bottle fed and one was breast fed only for 3months. I have a 16 month old daughter and i’m stopping thiss weekend as i cant face it happening again, its a shame as she settles and gets comfort from it
Its something i was not aware of and although breastfeeding goodpoints outweigh the other ‘bad’ effects its still worth noting so you can be aware of it.
Bye x