Your dentist may caution against breastfeeding at night to prevent cavities or you may have been advised to wean at night. It is also a common question in parenting message boards and conversations with new moms asking if they should stop breastfeeding when their baby starts teething.
First of all let’s start with the fact that nearly all mammals nurse at night and some are born with teeth.
“ If breastmilk caused decay – evolution would have selected against it. It would be evolutionary suicide for breastmilk to cause decay.”
Dr. Brian Palmer, DDS in Infant Dental Decay: Is it related to Breastfeeding?
But there’s catch!
Bottles allow liquids to pool in baby’s mouth and sit on baby’s teeth for long periods of time. The act of nursing is quite different from bottle feeding. Baby needs to actively suck in order to express milk and in order to suck properly the baby also needs to swallow. So, breastfed breastmilk doesn’t pool in the baby’s mouth like bottles and as a result doesn’t cause cavities.
However breastfed babies can still get cavities. In order to make sure you’re doing everything to prevent cavities, breastfeed instead of bottle feed at night. And you should brush your baby’s teeth twice a day as soon as that first tooth emerges. Use fluoride toothpaste in an amount no more than a smear or the size of a grain of rice.
Moreover studies have shown breastfed children are less likely to suffer from crooked teeth (malocclusion) and the longer the child is breastfed the greater the reduction in risk. A breastfed baby is also less likely to suffer from discolouration of teeth caused by excess fluoride (fluorosis).
So it is safe to say breastfeeding provides health benefits beyond nutrition.
