breast milk and baby cavities

Did you hear that breast milk can’t cause cavities? False! Sort of. The truth about the cariogenicity of breast milk (ability of breast milk to cause cavities), is both extremely important and not easy to answer. 

Research has shown that human breast milk is more cariogenic than cow milk, but not more than infant formula . So, technically, it can cause cavities. But these studies were done in a petri dish, not in a mouth that has things like saliva. Saliva, if you didn’t know, is full of lovely things like minerals that help fight cavities.

So why don’t they just study the effects of human milk in a babies actual mouth? Well, because it is nearly impossible to account for all the variables. You would need to account for anything else the baby might be eating or drinking, how often they are consuming, how often their teeth are being cleaned, fluoride exposure, what the quality of their teeth and saliva is (this is genetic), and what bacteria they might have in their mouths (more than one type can cause cavities, and some are worse than others). See where I’m going with this?

What we can look at are general trends. We can gather information from large populations and see if children who were breast-fed had more cavities. A study in 2007 showed that a child is not more likely to get cavities if they breast-fed. This doesn’t mean that breast milk wont cause cavities, it just means that breast-feeding isn’t linked with a higher level of cavities.

We do know that as soon as teeth first erupt in a baby’s mouth they can get cavities. This usually happens when they fall asleep with milk or juice in their mouth, which is why we call them ‘baby bottle cavities.” Sugar significantly increases the potential of natural milk to cause cavities . In other words, your baby doesn’t need chocolate milk, or strawberry milk, or soda, or sports drinks, or any drink that has added sugar. In fact, your kids don’t even need juice, which is just tasty sugar-water – the whole fruit is much healthier.

Because human breast milk is so beneficial to the baby and the mother, it is important to continue to breast-feed until the baby is 6-12 months, even if they already have teeth coming in. Until we have better information, which we might never have, we should err on the side of caution. It is best if infants don’t fall asleep while breastfeeding once their first teeth erupt. If they fall asleep during breast-feeding then try to wipe their teeth with a wet cloth. If your child must sleep with a bottle, then make sure it is only filled with plain water.

It is important to know that it’s not just what your baby is eating, but also how often they are eating and their hygiene habits. I will address these issues in future posts but, briefly:

• start cleaning your babies teeth as soon as they erupt,
• don’t let your child snack all day long and only give them healthy options, and
• try to avoid passing on your bacteria to your children (don’t put their pacifier or spoon in your mouth and don’t feed them with you hand).

For additional information:

ADA Statement on Early Childhood Caries, 

ADA.org “Frequently Asked Questions” page on ECC,

http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjanfeb97p11.html

Edison and Vaccination

Hundreds of years of scientific thought and the lives of some of the worlds most intelligent laureates have been dedicated to prolonging human life. Vaccines were a milestone in this effort. Like Thomas Edison’s creation of the light bulb – just as we are not lighting candles and moping around in the dark, we are also not dying of measles, mumps, rubella, smallpox, chickenpox anymore.

Vaccines have everything to do with this achievement. In fact, the smallpox vaccine worked so well that it doesn’t exist anymore. Unfortunately, we still contend with many other diseases. Honestly… we really do. Have you ever seen someone afflicted by Polio? In the last five years I’ve met two adults who survived Polio with lifelong consequences. A few countries in Africa and the Middle East remain Polio endemic. 

If enough people refuse vaccines we will begin to see outbreaks of some of these preventable disease right here in the USA. Oh… wait. We already have. Think measles aren’t a big deal? Well, it still kills about 1,000,000 children each year in developing countries. A million. It’s also the leading cause of blindness in children in Africa. And recent outbreaks due to vaccine refusal include other illness too: Pertussis (particularly in California), Mumps, Hepatitis A, B… it goes on.

Think you’re safe via herd immunity? Some people assume that since everyone else is vaccinated, they are safe from the disease. Well, that’s just irresponsible – both socially and for the individual. Until a communicable disease has been completely eradicated, it remains a threat. Keep in mind that outbreaks primarily affect those who cannot be vaccinated (newborns and the immune compromised) and those with declining immune systems (elderly).

Despite all of the lives saved, vaccines are constantly facing controversy and criticism;