Have been sitting on the sidelines for the last couple of months - that is how I found out about the “chat room”. Have responded privately to some dental issues. Think this chat room has great potential for discussing all lactation situations. Please come chat with me about infant caries on Monday night, May 4, at 10:00PM Eastern time. I will probably be asking more questions than answering questions, but it could be very informative for all of us. I would especially like to chat with those of you who have exclusively breastfed but your infants have developed early dental caries. I am trying to develop a questionnaire that can be given to mothers who have experienced same, to try to discover why the caries developed. “Chat area” is at < http://www.pedschat.org/instant.htm >. Mac users like myself need to use a chat program like Ircle. It can be downloaded from < http://www.xs4all.nl/~ircle/ >. Best to use a non-Mac computer until you have learned how to use the Ircle program. I am trying to find a "Mammologist" (studies mammals) who has studied the teeth of infant mammals to see if other species other than humans have problems with infant decay. Any names would be appreciated. Please send names by private email. Update - My article, “The Influence of Breastfeeding on the Development of the Oral Cavity” will be published in the June issue of JHL. I will be discussing this article at a conference in June (info on LACTNEWS < http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html >). Article hints of another article I am writing - “How and why breastfeeding reduces the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)”. Will also be discussing at conference. Other presentation will hopefully help resolve issue of infant caries and tight frenums. (Pediatricians do not really understand the full implications or consequences of tight frenums - some dentists do.) A couple of weeks ago I gave a presentation to the staff and interns of a hospital sleep team on the evaluation and treatment of OSA. In the presentation I discussed the importance of breastfeeding as a help to reducing the incidence of OSA (and otitis media). Received the result of the critiques yesterday and it was very favorable. One of the ENTs in that group is going to have me present the importance of breastfeeding to the physicians in her large clinic. Will be giving similar presentations to two hospital anesthesia groups in July. Time is limited so have to go NOMAIL again until after conference. Moving forward slowly, one small step at a time. Come chat! Have a great day! :-) Brian Palmer, DDS Kansas City, Missouri [log in to unmask]