There are many benefits that breastfeeding carries over bottle feeding and one advantage has to do with the fact that there are many benefits regarding your baby’s future teeth and jaw health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry both have a goal of making sure that they promote optimal health for children, both state that there is a clear connection between bottle feeding inappropriately such as allowing the baby to feed off the bottle while being propped up for extended periods of time or being put to bed with the bottle in the mouth can lead to dental caries. There has been a huge debate over the years regarding breastfeeding and future caries called, “nursing caries”.

Research shows that the “caries issue” may have more to do with genetics and a bacteria present in the mouth, “streptococcus mutans” than many people are aware of. This bacteria is typically transferred to the baby from his/her mother. When moms have a high level of streptococcus mutans (which is usually associated with a history of having dental caries) the association is at its most high rate. There are other genetic factors that will predispose a baby to future caries as well.

Current research shows that we may have special protective elements in saliva present in the mouth that may also influence whether or not we are prone to future caries. These “protective elements” help to decrease bacterial adherence to the surfaces of our teeth and help to inhibit the breakdown of the tooth enamel by plaque. In individuals who lack these protective elements in saliva, they carry a higher risk for dental caries.

Research also shows that there also appears to be a connection between culture, race, and socioeconomic status to the future occurrence of dental caries.

Studies that have taken an overall survey of both bottle-fed and breast-fed babies, the results show that bottle-fed babies had a higher incidence of dental caries. The examination of the studies suggest that this higher incident in bottle-fed babies can be attributed to the habits of bottle-propping and the practice of giving the baby a bottle that contains either formula, juice or milk when butting the baby down to nap or sleep.

Studies have also shown that those babies who were exclusively breast-fed (no bottles given at all) were also at a higher risk for “nursing caries” when moms nursed them repeatedly throughout the night, while sleeping with the babies. This occurs only when the mom and baby are both asleep and the breast has NOT been removed from the baby’s mouth and the breast milk is allowed to pool in the baby’s mouth (much like what occurs when a bottle is propped or the baby is put down with a bottle in the mouth). Typically when the baby falls asleep at the breast, the mom’s nipple retracts and the breast milk left in the baby’s mouth can then come into contact with “lingual surfaces of the upper incisors”.

All of us produce less saliva as we sleep and saliva is nature’s way of clearing out substances in our mouth including milk and breast milk. The decrease of saliva during naps and at night means that when milk or breast milk is left in the baby’s mouth there is also less saliva to help clear it away. This saliva issue contributes to both bottle-fed caries and nursing caries.

Caries in babies older than 12 months of age can also be contributed to other factors including solid foods given, whether or not fluoride supplementation is given, and also the dental hygiene given to the baby.

There are according to research many contributing factors to dental caries and how breastfeeding or bottle-feeding contributes to present or future caries. Many factors appear to be genetic in nature and out of our control while others are a matter of good nursing and bottle-feeding practices and also good dental hygiene.

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