When I joined Lacnet I didn"t think I would be posting about a personal
situation, but I am at wits end and am hoping that someone can help me.  My
daughter (Anna) is 21 mos. old and nursing.  When her teeth started erupting
I noticed a ridge just above the gum line on her top central and lateral
incisors.  It was not very noticeable at first, but as her teeth grew, the
ridge became discolored.  Aprox. 4 mos. ago I made my first trek to the
pediatric dentist and was told my daughter had bottle mouth decay.  My Anna
who has never had a bottle cross her lips!  I was also informed that I must
wean her since extended nursing is what caused it.  Didn't I know all
children should be weaned by one year?  The dentist explained "contacts" to
me and told me if i continued to nurse (which I do) that I would have to
count each nursing as a contact, and Anna could have no more than 6 contacts
in a day including her meals, snacks, and drinks.  He felt that the best
method of treatment would be to bond the affected teeth, but because of her
age, she would have to be strapped to a papoose board and would not be given
any anesthesia.  Needless to say, I decided on a second opinion which I got
today.  Guess what?  The second pediatric dentist agreed with the first and
further stated that if I insisted on nursing Anna, she would not guarantee
that the bonding would last.  I AM SO FRUSTRATED!!!!!!  Neither one of these
dentists could show me any clinical studies that proved that extended nursing
causes dental caries, but one did hand me a pamphlet that states "It has been
proven that nursing for prolonged periods or delayed weaning can contribute
to the destruction of the child"s teeth."  How can my daughter have bottle
mouth decay??  How can breastmilk come in contact with top front teeth??  One
dentist told me this happens because of tongue thrust and the milk pooling
(with breastfeeding?), and if that is the case, why doesn't she have any
decay on the back of her teeth?  Why did both of these dentists make me feel
like I was a lousy mother not to mention the fact that they equated my IBCLC
to breastfeeding fanatic (and proud of it, too). I don't know much about the
formation of teeth, but isn't it possible that the enamel wasn't formed
properly on my daughter's teeth since they were like that when they came in?
  I have run out of pediatric dentists, so I am hoping someone will have some
wisdom to share with me.
                                                               Thanks,
                                                                  Pam