Does anyone know about Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation (MIH) and breastfeeding? Worrying stuff on Radio 4 just now.

[LizTerrine]

I've never heard of this condition, it was on Inside Health on Radio 4 just now. Quite concerning that they seemed to think the cause might be breastfeeding (?) and were talking about offering food supplements from four months.

Anyone know more?

A quick google finds a recent, well referenced, journal article (Journal of Paedicatic Dentisty) that doesn't mention BF at all
if you fancy a read
Preterm, systemic health conditions, poor general health are mentioned however.

(Not my specialist area at all btw! Just a bit of googlefu)

I listened to Inside Health too. Are there any links on their website perhaps?

Have a look at Brian Palmer's website.

Why would we have evolved to produce milk that rotted our babies' teeth?

Breastfeeding is the scapegoat du jour, it seems.

I thought the doctor was trying to say that bf beyond 6 months without the introduction of solids was the problem. Babies older than 6 months need more nutrition than bf can provide after 6 months.

I would describe that as a problem with solids introduction rather than a bf problem.

I have always wondered about my kids dodgy teeth being due to breast feeding, there is very little vitamin D in breast milk and my lot all got teeth very early ( think 6 weeks !). The one who breastfed for longest, and was never given follow on milk has the worst teeth ( despite a typical healthy middle class diet. ) I heard the end of this program but decided not to listen on iplayer in case I end up feeling too guilty, it has taken me a long time to come to terms with the DSs poor quality teeth. However I weaned my ( large and hungry) babies on to solids at three and a half months (at the time the advice was 4-6 months) and now I don't feel so bad about that.

It's their molar that have problems, by the way, DS2 has a crown at 12 due to an adult molar forming with little enamel.

The doctor being interviewed didn't think there was a link to Vit D but they did reiterate the importance of vitamins for bf babies.

They mentioned that the prevalence of the condition in children is around 10 to 16%. Given that the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at six months of age is less than 1% in the UK, there presumably can't be a very strong connection? A quick skim through a review article indicates that it is very poorly understood and appears to have multiple underlying causes. I suspect the emphasis on breastfeeding as a possible contributing factor was mainly a journalistic hook. With exclusive breastfeeding, as with many aspects of parenthood, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't!

When I listened to it there were two things I took away:
1- you must wean properly at 6 months (ie feed solids 3 times a day) or the likelihood of occurrence will go up 5 times
2- the strongest root cause they have determined so far is significant illness between 0 and 6 months (which you can realistically do nothing about)
I am going to take the approach that now I know about the condition, I will inspect my child's "big" molars regularly and take him to the dentist if there are any signs. The earlier you spot it, the earlier they can take corrective action.