To be shocked that on demand breastfeeding caused tooth decay

[Ditheringdooley]

My 2 year old needs two teeth extracted and further fillings.

She was bf on demand and fed until 2 and in the night until at least 18m. I did attempt to brush her teeth when first teeth came in at 6m but not religiously and only did so after 12m but it was a horrific battle and she was still having feeds in the night afterwards.

Dentists say that this caused her teeth to rot and she needs extensive work- they suggest under general but I’m pushing for local as could not live with myself if she died under general because I had allowed her teeth to be effed up.

We did seek a referral to NHS over a year ago but never heard anything so will probably have to do this privately. Can’t wait for another potential delayed referral esp with current covid delays.

Any experience to share? I can’t believe this has happened to us. I thought ‘bottle rot’ didn’t happen to BF babies and with my second I will not allow bf at night past 6m.

OK, just read a long article it's more complicated than you would think.
Breastmilk alone does protect teeth but after weaning this protective effect is lessened and its then that any defects in enamel cause problems as they are no longer protected and decay can accelerate quickly, the bacteria that causes decay can be passed from the mother too, by kissing, sharing cutlery etc. Not everyone carries this bacteria.
Mine all had a degree of problems with enamel.
Mine all have good adult teeth by the way.

Dentist here - breastfeeding doesn’t cause decay.
Nipple in mouth for hours of prolonged soothing at night without sucking so it pools CAN cause decay if other factors aren’t top notch. Not brushing for 6 months WILL cause decay.

I would not extract teeth under local on a 2 year old so listen to the dentist on that score - they wouldn’t refer if they didn’t believe it was safe.

I BF on demand until 3 for all my DC. I also brushed their teeth twice a day religiously (yes they're went through phases of it being a tear filled battle but it was always non negotiable for me). All their teeth are fine

On a different note I'd definitely let her have the GA, I think teeth extraction under local would be very traumatic for a young child.

Sorry this is rubbish. It’s not breastfeeding. You neglected to brush your kids teeth, you’ve probably been told this but you don’t want to believe it so you are trying to get people to validate your efforts to blame someone else.

That poor child.

OP does say she brushed the teeth religiously after 12 months but breastfed afterwards. She just didn’t brush religiously between 6 and 12 months when her child didn’t have many teeth.

I personally do not believe this to be true. I ebf my three until they were 2 years old, including feeding through the night. However, one son had to have a few bottom teeth removed when he was about seven. They came through badly discoloured which the dentist attributed to being given antibiotics when he was a young baby and had a nasty ear infection. Could this have happened to your child? I think I was told that his adult teeth could come through very crooked as a result but they were actually perfect.

It doesn’t look like the OP is coming back!

My DCs were breastfed on demand including night time. They also had occasional sweets and squash. I have always refused to give them “no added sugar” stuff preferring to give them the full sugar option with good dental hygiene.

DCs are now late teen and early 20s. Not a single filling between them. Two extractions due to overcrowding In one child.

Teeth were brushed twice a day from the time they started teething (so pre actual teeth but getting them used to the brush etc). THAT is what makes the difference! Not brushing teeth is what has caused OPs problems not the breastfeeding.

It doesn’t look like the OP is coming back!

What a surprise after 100+ posts telling her she’s a terrible mother. So much for this being a site that supports parents.

@Friendsoftheearth

It is nighttime feeding for too long, sorry op that has been an awful shock to you and so upsetting. I hope your LO is okay

Absolute BS

Biologically normal and as some PP have said, mechanism and 'ingredients' make it unlikely

DS teeth are perfect. He had night feeds to 21 mo but we brushed his teeth 2x a day every day

I brushed her teeth from 6m at nighttime and tried to establish a routine. Usually that involved screaming and clenching and having to hold her between my legs to keep her arms away so I could force her mouth open.

That continued as she got older, so brushing was attempted but not always successful or I suppose thorough enough.

The problematic teeth came through brown so there was obviously an issue with bacteria getting in under the gums.

We’ve been to two dentists who attribute this to bf on demand (ie after brushing). I am a big bf advocate and I got to 2 years thinking it was the best for her.

I went back to work at 8-9m and she wasn’t really eating at that point- would refuse expressed milk in the day and reverse cycled. There were a few weeks where she was feeding every hour at night.

Thanks to those who have linked to Kellymom etc. I must say I think those gave me a false sense of security at the time in relation to the protective effect of bf. I’m quite anemic so my milk probably didn’t have the lactoferrin anyway!

What is missed out in those articles is that if there are remnants of food on the teeth (so either if poor brushing technique or no brushing, at night or during the day) then that plus breastmilk is damaging.

I failed her in not pushing through and doing a better job on the brushing. I think I made the mistake of brushing the teeth that had come through rather than all the gums where teeth had yet to come in. But it was very hard.

I’ve destroyed her smile and really worried about her adult teeth. If teeth removed now they won’t come in for years.

I suspect she does have weak teeth because in spite of brushing properly now (only drinks milk or water, no ketchup or dried fruit etc outside of mealtimes, does eat fresh fruit but try to get her to have water to rinse mouth after) she is still developing cavities - that are more recent.

She’s a bad eater and for a long time was anemic (family history) affects appetite- so there is a balance between not letting her snack and graze and getting enough food and nutrition in her.

BF does not cause tooth decay. Read up recent research into this and share with your dentist.

I was bf and my siblings too- on demand in a country where there isn’t the same focus on oral care for babies teeth.

I was frankly surprised that 2 dentists gave this as the same cause and said they were seeing increasing occurrences in bf on demand.

Share this with them:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/breastfeeding-and-dental-health/breastfeeding-and-dental-health

It's not BF that's caused your child's teeth issues, it's diet/poor oral hygiene/genetics.

Working through all the messages (had to do dinner and bedtime). Thanks for input. Particularly keen to hear of experiences.

Being told that it’s because of poor brushing isn’t really helpful - I know I have failed her and we need to probably brush her teeth 3x a day from now on, and have the dentist give some advice on technique.

But still wrestling with the extraction issue. We have an orthodontist in the family who says removal of milk teeth should be an absolute last resort.

Private dentist isn’t referring; would do the work herself at hospital. She would do the local but suggested it would be traumatic for the child.

Sorry but you can get tooth decay with breastfeeding. It is just a reduced risk compared to bottle fed babies and it is only a decreased risk for the first 12months.
www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/04/PHE-Child-Dental-Health-and-Breastfeeding-April-2018.pdf

@titnomatani thank you for the link. Given that only 1% are still bf at 12m (and we went to 2yrs) it’s hard to see how there is a wide evidence base for the statements beyond 6m.

I totally am behind bf. I think I probably should have stopped nightfeeding when her teeth came in and been stricter about it. I put up with shit sleep for 2 years to give her what I thought was best.

@PlanDeRaccordement thanks - that is a good summary document.

Local would be very traumatic. It’s a big needle in the mouth and the anaesthetic burns when injected into the gums.
General was not traumatic. My DD aged 3 at the time had to have a tooth extracted and they let me put on scrubs and go in and hold her until she fell asleep. I was then right by her bed when she woke up. Young children should only have general in a hospital setting so that any adverse reactions can be easily countered.

OP, I'm glad you've come back.

I think you've been unlucky FWIW. You bfed to two years, following guidelines. Then, you tried to establish a brushing routine as soon as you saw teeth, gradually building up to brushing religiously twice a day; again, following NHS guidance.

You've had an unfair amount of criticism on here imo.

My brushing routine and diet were soooooo much worse than your dd's and I never needed any sort of treatment like this. I had a tooth out once, but because it was broken, not decayed.

I mean, we used to have a fizzy drinks delivery service come to our house. I'm not even exaggerating. Full sugar hot Ribena at bedtime and brushed our teeth once a day .

My point is, you have been unfortunate. Please don't beat yourself up too much and don't let anyone else do it on here either. I think you've done a great job for your dd, with following all the guidance, probably better than many people do. How many people manage to bf to two year? That isn't what a mum does if she doesn't give a shit about her child's health.

Also, nobody ever told me to brush my dcs' gums before any teeth showed up. I had no idea! How could you have ever known that? I even did a workshop on infant teeth at our Sure Start Centre when we had dc1 and this wasn't mentioned.

Haven’t RTFT just wanted to say that GA. is very safe in healthy individuals whereas I would imagine LA to be much more traumatic. Basically if you had an horrific time trying to brush her teeth how will your dentist be able to carry out extractions and fillings?

@falalalaoops she does snore a bit- what is the link?!

I breastfed 3 out of five of my kids and they are the only ones without a cavity in their heads. I was kind of obsessed with brushing their teeth, though.

I did same as you! Breastfed. I didn’t do night feeds but was guilty of nursing them to sleep. So brushing teeth and then feeding.....it cancels it out.

One of mine was similar and the other has perfect teeth. The dentist said it was most likely genetic and just one of those things, given his very healthy sibling.

Please try not to beat yourself up over this. You LO probably just didn’t have strong enamel or something.

@BigBlondeBimbo thanks. I think the brushing the gums think is not that widely known - it is obvious when you think it through but until you see a tooth erupting I’m not sure you would realise.

Thanks for your reassurance. I’m educated and self assured enough to take in context less helpful comments (and read everything I could, and still failed in this) but if I was younger, less assured etc, I’d be quivering in a corner. Those parents still need support and this is meant to be a place for it.

Thank you for those commenting on GA/ local, especially those from a medical background.