What a difficult situation.  I think that in cases like this, it makes
sense for mothers, and grandmothers, to trust their gut.

For example, my daughter sucks her thumb.  Starting at age 2, people
started to tell me that we needed to make her not do that.  My answer
was always that I would prefer to spend money on orthodontics rather
than psychology.

Breastfeeding is so much more than the milk, as we all know.  There are
huge risks for not providing human milk or nursing a toddler.  I'm not
sure the risks of a few cavities counter the risks of not nursing.  I
would certainly argue that cavities can be fixed, but premature weaning
can have consequences that go beyond cavities on baby teeth.

Joylyn Souter

On 7/6/10 8:56 AM, Elizabeth Swift wrote:
> Well, they had the appointment and it apparently was downright hellish.  The things my daughter was seeing on the front of the teeth were only precursors to cavities, but there are cavities on the back of her front top incisors.    The dentist was not even interested in what other food she was eating, said she must be night weaned and no longer allowed ad lib nursing during the day time.  He was dismissive of my daughter, painted the babies teeth with something with no explanation of what it was.  My daughter felt more traumatized than she has been by our own dentist.
>
> She now feels like all the information she's getting is contradictory, and I have to admit I'm feeling a bit the same way.  One site will say that foods like strawberries are acidic and soften the enamel, another says strawberries have xylitol and help seal the teeth.  Some sites say breast milk is not cariogenic, others say well, even breastmilk pooled in the mouth can cause cavities.  She doesn't want to night wean, for a variety of reasons including the fact that she is still experiencing post-partum infertile cycles due to eco-breastfeeding and doesn't use contraceptives.  They are still hoping for at least a two year spacing, and she had wanted to nurse until at least two as the WHO recommends (the dentist would prefer she weaned now).
>
> What she would desperately like to find is a dentist whom she can comfortably work with, who will listen to her concerns about dietary solutions, etc.  The one she took the baby to today is obviously not someone she feels comfortable with at all, and if she's not comfortable with him her daughter is not going to be either.  So do any of you know of a dentist somewhere within an hour or so of Burlington, Vermont who works with breastfeeding toddlers and their parents without insisting on weaning?
>
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