Heidi:  Please tell your friend that LLLI and the Center for Breastfeeding
Information have a dental caries statement.  I am going to bite the bullet
and re-type the whole, in-tact statement, but not the separate more current
biblio (please DO obtain it from LLLI)--If you use this statement, please
attribute it to LLLI and make no alterations to the statement.

"BREASTFEEDING AND DENTAL CARIES"  LA LECHE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL April 1995

La Leche League International (LLLI) respects the concerns of mothers and
dentists about a possible connection between extended breastfeeding,
particularly nighttime nursing, and dental caries in the primary teeth.
There have been no valid scientific studies to support that claim.  Even
so, breastfeeding continues to be implicated along with artificial feeding
as a cause of dental caries.

LLLI  is aware that some breastfed toddlers have developed dental caries.
We have only to consider the overwhelming majority of breastfed toddlers
with healthy teeth to know that there must be other factors involved.
Unfortunately, researchers have not asked pertinent background questions,
including the following:

*Is there a family/genetic history of tooth decay or poor enamel formation?
*Did the mother have any illness with high fever and/or requiring
antibiotics during pregnancy?
*What was the mother's diet during pregnancy and lactation?  Did it include
caffeine, a potential cariogenic agent, and sufficient calcium?
*Was the child born prematurely?
*When were solids added to the chil'd diet?  What does the child eat and
drink on a regular basis?
*Has the child received sweetened medicines, including vitamins, antibiotic
and cough syrups, on a frequent basis?
*Has a link between the bacteria in the parents' mouths and dental decay in
the child been investigated?
*What type of dental hygiene is practiced with the toddler?
*Does the toddler sleep for long periods at night with the breast in his mouth?

It is LLLI's contention that a small percentage of at-risk breastfed
children develop dental caries in spite of breastfeeding, not because of
it.  Human milk is very different in composition from infant formula and
cow's milk.  Nursing from the bresat is very different mechanically from
sucking on a bottle and artificial teat.  These distinctions need to be
rcognized and respected if a true picture of the incidence and severity of
dental caries in bresatfed children is to be determined.

Ther lifesaving and enhancing health and emotional advantages of human milk
and breastfeeding over infant formula and bottle feeding are well
documented worldwide.  These benefits must be weighed against any
self-limiting risk of dental caries in the primary teeth in early
childhood.

LLLI, 1400 N. Meacham Rd, Schaumurg, Illinois, 60173 USA

WarmLLLy,
Chris

: )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )

: )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC  email: [log in to unmask]  : )
: )HSR & Health Educational Consultant        voice/fax: 541 753 7340   : )
: )             **CHANGE THE WORLD, NURTURE A CHILD!**
: )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )   :  )   : )  : )