Dear Jacquie and Lactfolks,

I have a tape of a talk by Dr. Harry Torney (dentist/researcher in Ireland)
at the 1995 LLLI conference.  He mentions that breastmilk is protective vs.
strep mutans.  I don't have the notes, though, so don't have his references.

One interesting thing he mentions is a speculation that calcium deficiency
during pregnancy might cause formation of defective enamel.  I don't know if
he has done any more research in this direction in the past years.

Personally, my first child has perfect teeth, and my second and third have
had problems with dental caries--all with similar nursing patterns.  I
consumed a lot of dairy products during each pregnancy, so figured I was
getting calcium.  Since then, however, I've read (sorry, no refs at hand
right now) that it's possible to end up with a net deficiency in calcium from
eating dairy products...and I've also discovered that I and my family have
mild sensitivities to dairy products, especially the whey component.  If the
information about calcium deficiencies from dairy has merit, perhaps there is
a connection, at least in my family's case.

However, I've also found that avoiding snacks like juice boxes and pretzels
(I now substitute water, carrot sticks, and fruit), and brushing their teeth
thoroughly after any foods other than breastmilk, keeps the two younger boys
caries-free.

The biggest problem we've had is locating a pediatric dentist who will
"allow" parents to be with the child through office dental procedures.  We
have to drive almost 2 hours to go to one who welcomes parents.  I've found
it easy to ignore the weaning advice and get on with our lives.  (This
dentist is wonderful, except for her stated unwillingness to look at any
information on nursing, so I'm not about to go elsewhere.)

Lisa Mo
LLLL, Bowling Green, KY USA

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html