Breastfeeding and tooth decay?

Okay im just curious i've always heard not to put baby to bed with a bottle because it will cause tooth decay and other problems is this the same for a breastfeeding baby? One that has a breast in their mouth for most of the night and while they are feeding sleeping throughout the day will this be a problem later on? thanks.

Breastfeeding and tooth decay?
The way bottle-feeding works is that milk can just drip into baby's mouth and pool in it, contributing to dental caries and cavities. Breast feeding, on the other hand, requires that the infant actually suck to remove milk. A sleeping child is sucking in such a way that it is non-nutritive, in other words, they're sucking like it's a pacifier rather than to extract milk.





According to the preeminent authority on the subject, Dr. Brian Palmer (and his successor-in-kind, Dr. Glori Enzor) nursing and caries/cavities is not directly related. Many reliable studies are showing that night nursing doesn't lead to caries, but rather a combination of other factors, such as poor oral hygiene at an early age, sugar in the rest of the diet, etc. The theory in some studies is that the sugars in breastmilk react differently with saliva and the bacteria in the mouth and is less likely to cause these problems, even when given in a bottle. Other theories suggest that in combination with twice (or more) daily cleaning of the teeth and gums, the method of bf'ing rather than bottle feeding keeps decay at bay (sorry for the rhyme :) )





One of the interesting findings is that "Confirming the findings of other researchers, this author has evaluated approximately 600 skulls to find little evidence of problems with dental decay among our prehistoric breastfed ancestors." (quoted from the study by Dr. Brian Palmer linked below)





Listed below are some interesting articles on it. Hope that helps!
Reply:Nah. They don't want the baby to have a bottle all night every night. If you're breastfeeding, you're probably not doing it all night every night. YOu can start brushing their gums with baby toothpaste right away. That will help keep the gums healthy.
Reply:Nope, not the same. It's fine to nurse at night and even to allow baby to stay latched most of the night (both from an oral health standpoint and also from an emotional standpoint).
Reply:Once the baby has teeth and if he/she is eating other foods, you should be sure to rinse the baby's mouth or brush teeth with the baby paste before breastfeeding. Breast milk by itself is actually good for baby's teeth, but mixed with even the natural sugars of other foods can cause tooth decay. (And you DO NOT have to stop breastfeeding once the baby has teeth!)
Reply:While breastmilk rarely causes tooth decay on it's own, once you introduce other foods into the diet - baby foods and cereals, even juice, the combination of the two is highly toxic to teeth and can cause rapidly spreading decay.


As soon as your baby has teeth ( even just one tooth) you need to brush those baby teeth regularly with special baby toothpaste and a finger brush.





I believe in breasfeeding, I breast fed both of my children exclusively - my older child had no problems whatsoever, still has no cavities at 11 yrs old, but my younger child had to have 4 teeth pulled, and 4 root canals at two years old. The only difference between the two was that my younger got his all his teeth between 4-6 months, and my older child's came in more in the usual time frame, slowly between 6-12 months.
Reply:i cannot believe the person that said you stop breastfeeding if the baby has teeth.....that's absurd, untrue and was said as if it was some kind of medical advice
Reply:It's not true. Everyone does it because it helps the baby sleep. They need to, sorry, suck in their sleep so they wear them selves down. Oh, and if your baby has teeth you should stop breast feeding. I'm a mother. I know.