Infant Tooth Decay Caused by Breastfeeding for More Than 2 Years
- 10 years ago
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months of their life, and that solid food be added to their diet in combination with breast milk for longer than two years. But according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California in San Francisco, breastfeeding an infant for more than 2 years can make tooth decay more likely to occur in their baby teeth.
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months of their life, and that solid food be added to their diet in combination with breast milk for longer than two years.
But according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California in San Francisco, breastfeeding an infant for more than 2 years can make tooth decay more likely to occur in their baby teeth.
The study surveyed 458 infants from low income families in Brazil for over a year at 6, 12 and 38 months old, asking about their diet, including the consumption of breast milk.
Results show that 40 percent of the babies that breastfed between 6 and 24 months showed some tooth decay and for the subjects that breastfed longer than two years that number went up to 48 percent.
But the researchers say that breastmilk itself isn’t the primary cause of tooth decay.
It could be refined sugars from other food, or the physical act of bottle feeding, which causes bacteria fighting saliva to have limited circulation in the infant’s mouth.
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months of their life, and that solid food be added to their diet in combination with breast milk for longer than two years.
But according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California in San Francisco, breastfeeding an infant for more than 2 years can make tooth decay more likely to occur in their baby teeth.
The study surveyed 458 infants from low income families in Brazil for over a year at 6, 12 and 38 months old, asking about their diet, including the consumption of breast milk.
Results show that 40 percent of the babies that breastfed between 6 and 24 months showed some tooth decay and for the subjects that breastfed longer than two years that number went up to 48 percent.
But the researchers say that breastmilk itself isn’t the primary cause of tooth decay.
It could be refined sugars from other food, or the physical act of bottle feeding, which causes bacteria fighting saliva to have limited circulation in the infant’s mouth.