In a message dated 97-02-07 21:43:03 EST, you write:

Loretta writes:

 Local ped. dentist told Bfing Mom that she MUST totally stop Bfing NOW!  13
 month old child has his first "caviety" and "it is caused by Bfing at this
 age.  We all know he doesn't need to Bf  -  It is just a HABIT."
 Mom upset.  Not ready to totally wean.  Any new information I could inform
 mom and Dr. with?  (He happens to be my kids dentist - for the past 13 yrs -
 and I like him.  He just needs new info.  I think I probably was a closet
 nurser when I had my 3yr older Bfing in the car before we would go into his
 office.

     Loretta,

     One of this mom's best advocates is you.  Since you have been taking
your children to him for 13 years, you have an established rapport with him.
 Did you ever tell your dentist that you breastfed your 3 year old in the car
before visits?  Here is a story that I told once before on LACTNET:  After my
4 yr old's cleaning, the dentist said, "Mom, just keep doing what you're
doing, he's doing great!"  To that I replied, "You mean I should keep nursing
him through the night, and rarely brush his teeth?"  We could not get the
dentist's chin off the floor, but it opened a lot of dialogue between us.
 Since we had an eight year relationship and he respected my opinion about a
lot of other things, I did not lose respect or credibility with him.

     Primarily, it is best to encourage the mother to dialogue with the
dentist, but you could help her by providing current research, much of which
appears on LACTNET.  Actually the JAN/FEB., 1997  New Beginnings magazine
published by LLLI has a wonderful article about,"Coping With Dental Caries".


     One thing we need to be aware of is that most dentists only take note of
the breastfeeding children with dental caries.  Those with healthy check-ups
usually never tell the dentist that the child is still nursing.  If more
dentists were aware of the myriad of toddlers out there who nurse through the
night without any dental caries, then they would be less likely to blame
breastfeeding as the cause.

     As you and I both know:  genetics, eating, and brushing habits play a
much larger role in the dental caries picture.           Debbie Albert, IBCLC