Dear Lactnet,
    Regarding the baby with the "stained" erupting lower central incisors:
an examination will rule out whether it is active decay or if it is an enamel
defect/stain.  It does not have anything, IMHO, to do with breastfeeding.
The teeth presented like this at eruption.
    Enamel defects are mulitcausal in origin and do not always mean the
integrity of the enamel is poor.  I used to tell patints they were like
freckles or moles, meaning it is just part of the tooth.  Some "stained"
areas may be "soft" or decayed and require an acrylic restoration, but most
can be keep scrupulously clean and treated with a flouride topical gel.
    It is unusual for lower centrals to decay, it is much more prevalent in
upper centrals and laterals.  If it is just stain or hardened calculus it can
be quickly removed with a scaler.

Jan Ellen Brown RDH IBCLC
Charlotte, NC

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