I gather from what I have read that bottle mouth occurs when a specific bacteria, strep mutans, is present (so does all decay). "Insults" during pregnancy such as maternal illness, maternal fever etc seem to have some correlation with bottle mouth(b/c this is when formation of the enamel for baby teeth occurs); so does the presence of the bacteria in the mother's mouth. Bottle mouth does not appear to condemn a child to poorly developed permanent teeth; however, if too many baby teeth are lost, that can influence the placement of the permanent teeth. Those who know far more than I label bottle mouth as "in spite of, not because of" breastfeeding. Karen Zeretzke Baton Rouge, Louisiana [log in to unmask]