The dentist's population is not representative.  How many children under
three go to the dentist UNLESS there is a problem?  How many parents taking
their 3-5 year olds to the dentist and having perfect check-ups tell the
dentist that this child is still breastfeeding a couple of times a night.
(She *thinks* it is that many times; she doesn't really wake up.)

My first child had incomplete enamel on her primary teeth--you could see the
pale yellow spots.  And at two years she had five cavities.  She continued
seeing the dentist every four months and continued getting new cavities.  We
brushed after everything that went into her mouth.  She continued to feed at
the breast until she was 3 1/2.  My dentist said that if she hadn't been
b'fed she would have been hospitalized with major surgery.  Long after
weaning, she continued the decay on her primary teeth until they all came
out- this with my thorough brushing, flossing, and NO sweets ever passing
her lips.  Her permanent teeth came in strong and beautiful. She got tired
of my RAVING about them.

I would never recommend weaning because of dental problems, and I have been
asked about this a number of times.  The comfort and continued superior
nutrition Lia got from her breastfeeding were of utmost importance.  And
weaning doesn't stop the cavities anyway.  I hope that Betty Meeler will not
be reluctant to let this dentist see that "extended breastfeeding" is not
the cause of dental carries.

I thought back to my pregnancy and the recurring leg cramps, and concluded
that the milk that I was drinking had not giving me the calcium that I
needed.  I read that it is hard for many women to get enough calcium from
dairy sources and supplemental ca. is needed.  So with my second pregnancy I
took extra ca/mag and if I ever had leg cramps I increased my intake.

My second child had no cavities in her primary teeth even though she nursed
much more often, day and night, and for four years. Her teeth were strong
and healthy.

Knowing more about the balance of nutrients now, I recognize that my diet
with my first pregnancy was defficient in ca/mag related to the amount of
meat and other high phosphorus foods I was eating.  I also speculate that
(unknown to me) being allergic to dairy products, my body didn't assimilate
the ca/mag I was getting from the dairy. I got this idea from the slow
stature growth of Lia (child #1) when we were relying on dairy for her
calcium.  When she went off all dairy products at age 10 and we supplemented
with ca/mag tabs she began to grow rapidly.

Isn't it strange that Americans look at American breastfed children who get
lots of cavities and conclude that it is caused by breastfeeding, totally
ignoring the millions of people in other parts of the globe who breastfeed
often and for a long time without getting cavities.  And, of course, there
is no record of dental health of breastfed children early in our history,
when b'feeding practices were more like the rest of the world.(Except what
Dr. Brian finds.)

This dentist hasn't asked the mother about her pregnancy or her own dental
history.  She just sees cavity, asks about feeding and makes false conclusions.

One major problem is that we don't tell enough people that we are (or did)
breastfeeding our children past infancy.  Last year when we had a thread on
long-term breastfeeding, someone called on all of us to tell more people
about what we did or are doing.  (I tried to find the post but couldn't)
Sometimes the mother who is presently nursing a 5 year old is reluctant to
tell because of our culture's misguided notions of "child protection," but
those of us who breastfed our children (now grown-up) to four or five or...
should talk about it so that those who are following us won't be in as much
danger of being seen as deviant. And those HCPs who want to blame anything
undesirable on breastfeeding, can see otherwise. (Maybe)

I liked that call to educate, and have been talking more about our
breastfeeding experience.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee