Dentist told me to wean!

[cabrandy03]

I took my 15 month old daughter to her first dentist appointment yesterday.  She said her teeth look fine for now but basically told me that if I keep nursing her and especially keep nursing her to sleep at night that it will ruin her teeth and that I need to wean her!  Obviously I'm not going to listen to her...it just kinds pissed me off that she would even tell me I should wean my daughter!  Does anyone know anything about breastfeeding to sleep and problems with teeth?  Has anyone had any issues with this before?  I'm just wondering how serrious a problem it can be to her teeth...obviously I don't want to ruin her teeth....but we're not ready to wean yet!

[MorganTho]

Definitely not! Wtf. DD is also 15 months and I can't imagine weaning. I don't know how it can "ruin" her teeth. Did she mean like cosmetically or like bottle rot? I'm pretty sure bottle rot does not occur with bf babies, though I could always be wrong.

[MommaForever007]

Doesn't make sense to me. A breast is soft and flexible. Nothing like a firm, hard thumb or bottle or paci. And I know plenty of kids who suck on the paci/thumb and have no teeth problems

[cabrandy03]

she said babies who fall asleep at the breast can get bottle rot.

Quoting MorganTho:

Definitely not! Wtf. DD is also 15 months and I can't imagine weaning. I don't know how it can "ruin" her teeth. Did she mean like cosmetically or like bottle rot? I'm pretty sure bottle rot does not occur with bf babies, though I could always be wrong.

[MorganTho]

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

[Annett564]

Quoting MorganTho:

Definitely not! Wtf. DD is also 15 months and I can't imagine weaning. I don't know how it can "ruin" her teeth. Did she mean like cosmetically or like bottle rot? I'm pretty sure bottle rot does not occur with bf babies, though I could always be wrong.

[mostlymaydays]

Breastmilk has antibacterial properties. It doesn't feed bacteria, it kills it. However solid foods can contribute to tooth decay so in that regard a breastfed baby isn't completely immune, but still better off.

[cabrandy03]

thanks, that makes me feel better

Quoting MorganTho:

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

[mostlymaydays]

Breastfeeding and Dental Caries: No Connection
Written by a dentist:

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

[doulala]

Fortunately that is untrue.

Unfortunately, a lot of moms probably didn't research and followed that misinformation.

:-(

[MorganTho]

http://www.aapd.org/media/pressreleases/breastfeeding-99.asp