Breastfeeding Benefits to Your Child’s Dental Health

by Rachel

A lot of literature and resources have been written and produced to back up the idea that breastfeeding is very beneficial to the health of your baby. Breast milk has the ability to keep your baby healthy and at the same time act as immunization for dozens of diseases and sicknesses.

On the other hand, breast feeding can also affect a baby’s dental health which can lead to an early onset of Early Childhood Caries otherwise known as Baby Bottle Tooth Decay or Nursing Caries. The presence of caries is characterized by presence of cavities on a child who is less than 71 months of age. One of the primary causes of caries is a bacteria called Streptococcus.

There are three factors that need to be present for caries to occur. These three factors are: presence of a susceptible tooth, presence of carcinogenic bacteria and presence of acid.

Saliva is the number one line of defense that can be used to combat the presence of caries. Due to its bacteriostatic capabilities, our saliva will stop the growth of bacteria but will not directly kill the bacteria.

It is important that you detect the presence of childhood caries before it’s too late. Decaying teeth can be very painful and can lead to more serious problems.

Thankfully, the rate of childhood caries in breastfed babies are lower than those babies who are not breastfed. Breast milk has a lot of immunity-building properties which prevent a lot of diseases and that includes dental diseases such as caries.

The best way to combat this kind of oral disease is through proper oral hygiene. Even if your baby still doesn’t have teeth, it is important that you clean the gums using clean water and gauze after every feeding. Once your baby grows teeth, you can now use a small toothbrush to clean the little baby teeth.