Hi, This is my first post. My name is Diana Swenson and I am a
student of Anthropology at the University of North Dakota. I have a few
comments about carries in children. First of all, it is clear to almost
everyone that prehistoric populations breastfed their babies. Most
children nursed for aproximatly 3-4 years.  This is in foraging
populations. Another fact that anthropologists have drilled into their
heads from day one but, the average everyday joe might not know is that
foraging populations show very few dential carries. In fact one of the
ways you can tell a foraging population from an agricultural one is from
the number of carries they posses.

        What this means is that it wasn't until highly processed
carbohydrates such as bread, corn and rice products became a large
portion of the diet dential carries were not a problem.

        It's not the breastfeeding that is the problem. Quite the
contrary, breastfeeding strengthens the jaw of the child and contributes
to proper alignment of teeth. It's the highly processed carbohydrates
that provide the perfect environment for carries. Next time your dentist
tells you that giving your child breast milk is like giving them maple
syrup, ask them what they think of unsweetened O shaped cereral because
that is what is causing the tooth decay, not breastfeeding.