I've been following the "when should one introduce bottle?" discussion.
Have I been missing something?

I feel that one of the risks of bottle-feeding is bottle-feeding itself,
not just the contents of the bottle.  This is anecdotal:

In my experience it is leaving the bottle in the infant's mouth for long
periods (with juice or milk in) that rots teeth and leads to
iron-deficiency through discouraging a healthy diet.  Bottle-fed toddlers
are prone to use whole milk as a junk food with no fibre and no iron.

In many years of practice I do not recall ever seeing dental caries in a
healthy breastfed toddler.  My recollection of the typical bottle-fed
toddler, however, is a bottle of whole-milk or juice propped in the
sleeping infant's mouth with numerous cavities, a hemoglobin of 60, and
neurological impairment from iron deficiency.  I have looked after several
anemic, bottle-fed infants who required multiple extractions as a result of
excessive cow's milk.  I wonder whether dentists should be recommending a
warning on bottles: is there anyone from a dental association out there who
can back me up on my biases?

Young term infants do not require anything but breastmilk, of course; but I
suggest to breast-feeding mothers who wish to give their older children
other drinks (or EBM) that a cup is quite adequate and more easily cleaned.
 I do not recommend that they ever purchase a bottle-feeding system.

I hope that people don't find my opinion too extreme.

Khalid

Khalid Aziz
Memorial University of Newfoundland