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Subject:
From:
Steve Salop and Judith Gelman <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 16 Jul 1999 12:03:57 -0400
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Are the teeth marks left by the 11 month old on the top or the bottom of
the nipple?

 It is very normal for toddlers to leave teeth marks on the top when
they first get teeth.  After all, they have been nursing all their
little lives and suddenly they have these two projections in their
mouth.  Why open the mouth wider when they stick so nicely into mommy's
breast? In most cases, these don't cause any problem.  Occassionally,
esp when the first one is coming in and is razor sharp, it will break
the mother's skin.

If the marks are on the bottom, left by the bottom teeth, it is another
story.  The baby needs to have his tongue over the teeth to nurse so the
marks can only be left when he is not actively milking the breast.
Sometimes kids habitually gum the breast when they are done nursing.
Some kids don't like the sharp little teeth going into their tender
little tongue so they start retracting the tongu, which can causenipple
soreness. Sometimes the kid has never has the tongue in the right place
but since weigh gain was ok and the mother wasn't sore, this is the
first clear evidence of why this kid has been such a lousy nurser all
along (esp if the mother has a great supply.) (My second, who had awful
oral motor skills and poor oral tone, had evidently clutched the breast
with his gums all his life but the "evidence" only became clear when his
teeth erupted.)

The solution in all cases where teeth cause a problem is for the mother
to SWIFTLY remove baby from the breast as soon as she feels the teeth.
I'd take mine off the breast and put them on the floor, without saying
much (except for real bites--when the neighbors probably heard  me.)
This behavior modification approach works very well.

If she doesn't feel the teeth, there  really isn't a problem.  If it
looks like thrush, it probably has nothing to do with the new teeth.

Warmly,
Judy Gelman
Washington, DC

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