>Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 07:54:34 -0700
>From: Carolyn Longay <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: "Nursing Caries"
>
>Hello Kathleen:
>I went looking for subbing info for Lactnet and found your lovely home
>pages :)
>I am a LLL leader and recently became AAPL. I am also on TLC.
>I am a dental hygienist and dh is a dentist. Many times I have received
>requests for info on caries and breastfeeding from TLC, other lists and
>locally. This is an area where there needs to be more research. Most
>of the articles written in the dental journals compare bottle feeding
>decay and decay in bf children. While the etiology of decay is the
>same, in my mind, children have been breastfed 'on demand' and for
>extended periods since the beginning of time and we were most certainly
>designed that way (examples come to mind in Stuart-Macadam and
>Dettwyler's book _Breastfeeding, Biocultural Perspectives_). I don't
>believe that dental decay was created as part of the picture.
>
>I recently purchased the newest revised edition of the textbook _Dental
>Practice of the Dental Hygienist_ by Dr. E. Wilkins, which is *the*
>manual for dental hygiene education and sets standards of practice
>accepted world wide. The new recommendations are similar to the ADA
>when it comes to bf and decay:
>p.613
>IV. Diet and Feeding
>A. Prevention of NURSING Caries [emphasis mine]
>1. Describe nursing caries, how it is caused, and which teeth are most
>frequently involved.
>2. Nap or nightime bottle.....
>3. Avoid "on demand" breast-feeding practices. When the infant falls
>asleep, milk collects around the teeth. Demineralization begins, and
>dental caries can result.
>
>and p. 234
>Nursing Caries
>Nursing caries is a form of rampant caries found in very young children
>who routinely have been given a nursing bottle when going to sleep or
>who have experienced prolonged at-will breast-feeding. Other names for
>the same condition are nursing bottle mouth, baby bottle syndrome, baby
>bottle caries, and prolonged nursing habit.
>1. Etiology
>A. Nursing bottle that contains sweetened milk or other fluid sweetened
>with sucrose.
>B. Pacifier dipped or filled with a sweet agent...
>C. Prolonged at-will breast-feeding.
>
>Further along it recommends that parents be "counselled" how to avoid
>the problem - and it's not about thorough brushing, it's about stopping
>what they
>call "at-will breast-feeding".
>
>I have heard that the ADA came out with a stronger. more damaging
>statement about bf, co-sleeping, night-nursing and decay. I will be
>accessing their site today to look for that information.
>
>So...I am considering, in the least, writing an article for publication
>in the dentistry and dental hygiene journals (which I also have not done
>before). I have sent for a package from the Canadian Dental Association
>library on research or articles available on 'breastfeeding caries'.
>
>I am contemplating conducting original research in this area. However,
>there lies the difficulty, as I am not experienced (*at all*) in
>designing a study.
>I thought I might find some help on Lactnet in either recommendations,
>suggestions or comments for research or for inclusion in my articles for
>publication.
>Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer me. I do have
>a copy of the _New Beginnings_ articles recently published by the
>dentist.
>
>I am trying to be pro-active. I would like to be able to address the
>questions around breastfeeding and decay. I am enthusiastic and have
>the resources for research, I just need some direction.
>
>Do you have any suggestions for me? I am a member of INFACT and the
>local Breastfeeding Matters Group. If appropriate, please forward my
>post to Lactnet.
>--
>Carolyn Longay, mom to Sean 2 and Brittany 11 years
>Calgary, Alberta, Canada [log in to unmask]
>
>see our faces and not much more at
>http://www.kjsl.com/~hmurphy/carolyn.htm
>
>
>
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet,TLC, Indep. Consultant
http://together.net/~kbruce/kbbhome.html
LACTNET Archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html
LACTNET WWW http://www.telcomplus.com/~kga/lactation.html
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