Breastfeeding and baby teeth?

From what I have read you are supposed to brush or wipe off baby%26#039;s teeth after nursing...do you do this every time they nurse? What about when they fall asleep for the night nursing? I think my son is on the verge of cutting his first tooth and I%26#039;m trying to get an idea of what most people do!

Breastfeeding and baby teeth?
%26quot;From what I have read you are supposed to brush or wipe off baby%26#039;s teeth after nursing...%26quot;





?





Where%26#039;d you read this?





If it%26#039;s on-line somewhere, please, post a link...





(No. I don%26#039;t wipe my daughter%26#039;s teeth after nursing. Is there really somebody who does that?)





Always question breastfeeding %26quot;help%26quot; that would have you do something you wouldn%26#039;t find women doing 100 yrs ago, that you wouldn%26#039;t find in other species. Nursing is a pretty perfect process when left unfussed with; see esp the last part below.





%26quot;It%26#039;s often said that breastfeeding (particularly while lying down at night) will cause tooth decay, just like letting a baby sleep with a bottle of milk can cause %26quot;baby bottle mouth.%26quot; Essentially, a valid link has not been made between nursing (nighttime or otherwise) and cavities.





Before the use of the baby bottle, dental decay in baby teeth was rare. Two dentists, Dr. Brian Palmer and Dr. Harold Torney, have done extensive research on human skulls (from 500-1000 years ago) in their study of tooth decay in children. Of course these children were breastfed, probably for an extended length of time. Their research has led them to conclude that breastfeeding does not cause tooth decay...





Breastmilk also contains lactoferrin, a component in breastmilk that actually kills strep mutans (the bacteria that causes tooth decay). According to a recent article in the March/April 1999 issue of Pediatric Dentistry, %26quot;It is concluded that human breast milk is not cariogenic.%26quot;





In a study done by Dr. Torney, no correlation was found between early onset (%26lt; 2 yrs) dental caries and breastfeeding patterns such as frequent night feeds, feeding to sleep, etc. He is convinced that under normal circumstances, the antibodies in breastmilk counteract the bacteria in the mouth that cause decay. However, if there are small defects in the enamel, the teeth become more vulnerable and the protective effect of breastmilk is not enough to counteract the combined effect of the bacteria and the sugars in the milk. Enamel defects occur when the first teeth are forming in utero. His explanation is based on quite a large study of long-term breastfed children with and without caries.





According to this research, a baby who is exclusively breastfed (no supplemental bottles, juice, or solids) will not have decay unless he is genetically predisposed, i.e.. soft or no enamel. In a baby who does have a genetic problem, weaning will not slow down the rate of decay and may speed it up due to lack of lactoferrin.





Much research indicates that it%26#039;s the other foods in baby%26#039;s diet (rather than breastmilk) that tend to be the main problem when it comes to tooth decay. The 1999 Erickson study (in which healthy teeth were immersed in different solutions) indicated that breastmilk alone was practically identical to water and did not cause tooth decay - another experiment even indicated that the teeth became stronger when immersed in breastmilk...%26quot;





http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/to...
Reply:if he falls asleep, let him sleep. it can be hard to get em back to sleep, i know. just brush or wipe his gums in the morning or when he wakes up, he%26#039;ll be just fine:)
Reply:I%26#039;ve never done that, and I%26#039;ve never heard of it. Like Babies Uber Alles posted, breastmilk actually protects the teeth against decay. I use a soft baby toothbrush on my daughter%26#039;s teeth (4 of them), but only because she eats 3 meals a day of solid foods. If she were still exclusively breastfeeding, I wouldn%26#039;t even think of it.
Reply:No, I never did that when we breast fed, but with formula you should. Will my son (now almost 11 months) after a night bottle, I do wipe his mouth out, even if he is sleeping. I have a wet rag ready and I just do it. He only has 6 teeth, so it is easy But as for breast feeding, I remember waking up with milk dripping everywhere, lol, so no you don%26#039;t have to with the breast.
Reply:I only brush his teeth after he eats solids. Breastmilk isn%26#039;t formula, it doesn%26#039;t pool on teeth. You don%26#039;t need to brush unless he%26#039;s has something else solid to eat.
Reply:You don%26#039;t have to do this everytime but you should. To those that said breast milk protect the teeth that is false. Breastmilk same as formula has sugars in it. Anything that is not a neutral pH causes the bacteria found on the teeth to produce acids that attack the enamel. Baby bottle decay can come from breast or bottle (even if breast milk is in the bottle). The position babies lay in when they feed and the fact that they don%26#039;t clearly swallow all the fluid in their mouths is what causes the fluid to pool around the newly erupted teeth. If you notice it can be an hour since a baby has ate (from breast or bottle) and you can still see some milk in their mouths. Just simply take a washcloth and wipe out their mouth and teeth. It also helps to let baby have some water after drinking milking to clear out the mouth and help neutralize the pH again. Everytime our mouthes eat something sweet it takes 20-30 minutes before the pH returns to normal.



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