BFing to sleep and teeth

[wesolutka]

I've read that once babies have teeth they shouldn't be breastfed to sleep - the milk pools in their mouth and natural sugars can cause tooth decay. This worries me. DD (16wks) is currently breastfed to sleep, but I'd like her to be able to self-settle before she starts teething, so that we're not tackling sleep issues and teething at once (ha).

Has anyone managed to get their DC to self-settle after they were previously fed to sleep? Was it before teething?

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks :)

If you do some googling you'll find plenty of studies that say the opposite - that breastmilk does not cause tooth decay, and that breastfeeding doesn't cause tooth decay.

This makes sense when you think about it, how would the milk pool when the child has to be actively swallowing to get the milk (unlike with a bottle), and their tongue is completely covering their lower teeth? Plus they're sleeping on their back.

Anecdotal sample of one - but DS regularly fed to sleep either at night or for naps until he was 2 (still does very occasionally) and has absolutely perfect teeth according to the dentist.

Oh, and he dropped the feeding to sleep all on his own - I didn't have to do anything, and now only asks if he's feeling sorry for himself.

There's a Kellymom link with references here.

Thanks Chunky and Red, that makes a lot of sense!