And a few comment/excerpts:
"My 25-month-old daughter has developed tooth decay and will need some
major dental work done. I have seen three pediatric dentists and every
single one of them says that the cause is from night nursing and that we
need to wean her immediately. Even our La Leche League Leader has
recommended that we wean from night nursing. We share a family bed and she
wakes three to eight times a night to nurse (depending on teething, etc.).
She rarely drinks juice or has candy and has never had a bottle. She drinks
bottled fluoridated water and we have been brushing her teeth regularly.
She did have a very bad mouth infection just before the decay set in.
Before that, her teeth looked great. The decay has happened so rapidly that
I find it hard to believe all these dentists telling me the infection had
nothing to do with it and basically, it's all my fault. Is it really
possible that night nursing can cause tooth decay (especially teeth going
from looking great to severely chipped and obviously decayed -- and needing
to be removed -- in a matter of about six to eight weeks)? If I should wean
from night nursing, what are some ways to do this while sharing the family
bed?
Answer:
Yes, night nursing can cause tooth decay. For years, pediatricians and
pediatric dentists have noticed a condition called nursing bottle carries,
meaning tooth decay caused by nighttime bottles of juice or formula. The
reason for this is when an infant falls asleep the natural rinsing action
of the saliva lessens, which allows the sugary formula and juice to settle
on the teeth, thus causing decay. The incidence of nursing carries is
certainly much less in breastfed infants, but it does happen. After all,
breastmilk is a very sweet and naturally sugary substance. There are
several schools of thought on the severity of the problem of night nursing
and tooth decay. The La Leche League tends to underemphasize this
occurrence. Pediatric dentists tend to overemphasize the frequency and
severity of this correlation since, after all, dentists only see the
children in whom nursing carries occur, yet don't see the millions of
infants who night nurse and don't get tooth decay. In fact, breastfeeding
contributes to overall dental health by improving jaw alignment. Pediatric
dentists often refer to breastfed babies as "having a nicer smile."
My position on night nursing causing carries is somewhere between La Leche
League and pediatric dentists. Yes, it does occur and it is a problem that
needs to be more readily addressed. However, it certainly does not occur to
the extent that infants should not be night nursed after age 1, as some
pediatric dentists recommend. Certainly at 25 months your baby could be
night weaned, yet that is your personal decision. If you feel that your
infant still needs to nurse to sleep, here are some alternatives, in
addition to the good dental care you are already providing:
Brush your infant's teeth thoroughly as soon as she awakens in the morning
or after the first nursing. Then, brush them several times during the day.
If you use a fluoride toothpaste, be sure to use no more than a pea-sized
dab, since toddlers swallow toothpaste and an overdose of fluoride can
itself weaken the teeth.
Depending on the severity of the tooth decay, you might consider night
weaning from the breast..."
Here is the url for Bill Sears' comments on iVillage re: dental caries.
There were some surprising comments. Kathleen
http://iparenting.com/sears/answers/nightwean.htm
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet
Independent Consultant
http://homepages.together.net/~kbruce/kbblact.html
LACTNET Archives http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html
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