before bed bf and teeth

[mergem]

I still BF my 12mo DS before sleep at night.  I'm confused as to whether or not this will harm his teeth, as we've already brushed them at bathtime.
He sleeps through, so he doesn't nurse all night.

Any comments?

Also wondering if anyone BFs just twice a day like myself at this age?
early morning and before bed?

[mommytsa]

I read an article recently about breastfeeding and tooth decay, and it said that breastmilk doesn't cause cavities any more than rinsing with water would.  I'll check for it and post back when I can find the article, but I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

I found the article. I thought it was pretty interesting.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html

Here's a quote from the article: "This dentist also showed that 5 minutes of breastfeeding lowered the pH-level only slightly more than rinsing the mouth with a little water."

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I'm still bf'ing pretty much twice a day and my dd is almost 13 months and has 2 teeth.  On the weekend, I offer midmorning and midafternoon snacks of bf too, and I'm still pumping at work (not that she's bothering to drink much of it, even with the effort I'm putting in  :x  - and it's not easy typing with one hand while pumping with the other, I'll tell you!  :roll: ).

I've also read that about breastmilk - it's not the same kind of sugar or something so isn't as big a deal for cavities, I think...

[Samuel's mum]

I just read an article on this very subject:

http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfeed_caries.htm

It probably repeats some of the stuff on Kellymom. I like the observation that there are 4,600 odd mammal species and if breastmilk caused cavities there would be some very unhappy tigers/ bears/ beavers etc.  Also that skulls of early (breastfed) man showed no traces of dental decay until about 8,000-10,000 years ago when crop cultivation began. I think the important thing is that teeth are brushed well to remove plaque or traces of sugar from elsewhere in the diet. It is this sugar that is the problem not the actual breastmilk. The 'sugar' in breastmilk is inhibited by substances found alongside it.

[annamum]

Ditto to what was already said on the subject. You need to brush the teeth because your child is eating solids and these types of food cause decay. If you brush before bed and nurse then, it should be OK.

If you ask who is still nursing at 12 months, I bet there are quite a few moms who do. Well, Anna is way past 12 months but we are still nursing here :lol:.

[deenz]

Wow - that's very interesting re breastmilk and tooth decay...  I luckily never had to worry about that as dd1 still had no teeth by the time I had dropped that before-bed-bf!  (first tooth at 17m!)

At 12m I was still bf dd1 twice per day, after breakfast and after dinner.  She is still now having one bf per day some time after breakfast, at 21m.