amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

amy373 · 04-16-2004, 03:53 PM

Hi Mamas,
My daughter has the classic sign of dental caries--her four upper teeth have a brownish line across them. I'm really concerned.

We still nurse quite a bit, especially to sleep at night. I brush her teeth twice a day and after doing some reading at La Leche League International's website I decided to call our dentist.

He agreed to see her (the receptionist was surprised as she's only 21 months old--his youngest patient ever.) We're headed there next Friday.

Have any of you ever gone through this? What was your experience like?

She eats a relatively healthy diet--no juice or soft drinks. Whole milk occassionally, breastmilk, and water.

I also posted this in the extended nursing section. Thanks for any and all help. I'm so worried.

Mamaselena · 04-16-2004, 06:09 PM

look up at www.lalecheleague.org

there are several good articles and info about dental caries in BF babies

both my kids have them severely.

pm arasmama... she has been a great help to me when Istress over it. She has gone through it with both, and they eat a much more whole foods diet than I have ever known.

some kids get them.. it can be decay, genetics, sugar, breastmilk, loss of tooth enamel in vitro...

so many reasons they come.. I hate them... I hate everything about tooth decay... I hate the dentist for telling me its from nursing... I hate the fact that I weaned my son because of them and my giving in to familial pressures.

Daniel nursed all day and all night. HE had soy milk in a sippy cup. Drank juice and got candy with my mother in law...dried fruit, etc.... argh...

Anna, she has them worse and I brush her teeth faithfully, she doesnt drink juice, never really nursed at night... only seldom during the day. NO candy with Grandma cause greandma moved when she was a baby, lol. I followed every way for her to not get them, nothing in a sippy cup except water. SHe LOVES fresh apples, etc etc etc etc... as I said, hers are worse... some kids just get them. She will probably have dental surgery this summer. Daniel had it done when he was 19 months.

SOrry if this is a bit scattered, its a touchy subject with me...

edited to say.

DAniel had dental surgery in a surgery center 150 miles away from our home at 19 months old. They used general anesthesia so that he would be asleep during the process. I didnt want him strapped down with horrible memories. It was insanely expensive (we had to meet both surgical, medical and major dental deductibles) and a scarey process. I knew he would be okay with the anesthesia because he had surgery at 1year. He came out of it just fine, didnt complain about pain at all, ate the biggest meal of his life after we left (a whole plate of beans and rice at a mexican restaurant). He lost a cap back in November. Same dentist wouldnt replace it free of charge because they said it had been more than a year??? SO, we have $350 more to pay at his appt in May this year... what a fricking nightmare.

ANd Daniel is still afraid of the dentist, even after all of that...

soul4five · 04-26-2004, 12:27 PM

Hi. Just thought I'd add my thoughts and experience.

When my older dd was 15 months old, we took her to the dentist b/c her 2 front, top teeth were flaking off. We were told she had bottle-mouth and to stop nursing. The dentist suggested we cap her teeth when she turned 2 years old. I asked if I could keep nursing if we did that and was told no, b/c the teeth would keep deteriorating under the caps. I asked if the caps would keep her teeth from further deteriorating if we stopped nursing and I was told no, they'd probably still deteriorate, just at a slower rate. And, if we got the caps applied, she'd have to go to the dentist regularly to get them checked.

We decided not to cap her teeth, b/c it seemed like she'd endure more stress and probable trauma that way. Her teeth continued to break off and we continued to nurse. I kept cleaning her teeth and she never complained of pain or anything, so we left her mouth alone. When she was 3 years old, I noticed a bump in her gums by her messed up teeth (by this time, her 2 front, top teeth were basically brown nubs and the 2 teeth on the sides of them were messed up but not in bad shape). Her gums started bleeding when I brushed her teeth, so we decided to take her to the dentist, again. She still wasn't complaining of any pain.

We went to a new dentist and I told him I'd like to get her teeth pulled (I had been waiting to do this until she was older and the teeth were actually bothering her). I was told that that was a good idea b/c she now had an abcess in her gums and the infection could affect her adult teeth if the rotted teeth weren't pulled.

We went to an orthodontal surgeon and put her under and got her teeth pulled. She was groggy afterward, but showed no signs of trauma or pain. Since then (she's now 4), we've had absolutely no problems with any of her teeth and her gums healed quite nicely. The experience didn't freak her out any and I'm glad we waited so long to do anything.

In my dd's case, her enamel just started flaking off one day, then her teeth began breaking off. We don't know why it happened or what could have been done to prevent it. We do know that she didn't have bottle-mouth, nor was the breastfeeding worsening her case. None of her teeth were messed up besides those front, top four (even the 3rd dentist we took her to seemed shocked that she had no cavities on her xrays).

Our 2 year old son is now experiencing a cavity issue with his top, 2 front teeth. We ordered some butter oil and his teeth have shown improvement in the past month. I suggest trying this. It is expensive, but it's working for us and I know it's helped others. (it is most effective when taken with cod liver oil. I put it in his orange juice cup and he drinks it just fine, tho he is an extremely picky eater and drinker.)

Good luck! Try to remember that no matter what's going on with the baby teeth, the adult teeth are more than likely just fine.

05-28-2004, 09:35 AM

My son had the brown indentations/lines in his top 2 front teeth that got gradually worse and worse, and the lines got deeper and deeper. He did not complain of pain or anything, it was mainly a cosmetic issue, so I didn't do anything about it. He nursed until he was 2. HE nursed frequently, and towards the end, it felt like he would be basically nursing all night long. Finally, the top 2 teeth naturally fell out, and his adult teeth are beautiful.
He had alot of tooth problems besides those 2 front teeth. He had I think 7 cavities, and actually had to have root canals done on I think 5 or 6 of them (all on the baby teeth!). It was a process that took 2 years of going to the dentist and working on, and his baby teeth have all fallen out normally, and his adult teeth are all healthy and great. I found a pediatric dentist who is GREAT, and he gave my son the novicaine for the first couple of times without him knowing it--he called it the "magic wand"--he would show him the contraption with the cover over the needle so it just looked like a big glass thing. THen he would put some anaesthetic cream stuff on his gums, wait and let it work, then he would uncover the needle without my son seeing, and do his thing. Very impressive. Finally one time my son saw the needle, but this was after many times of going to the dentist, and really he never had pain from the novicaine. It was an arduous thing to go through, but we needed to deal with the problem. I never figured out exactly what the problem was from. My daughter has no tooth decay at all, and nursed until 2, too.
-Nicole

Caden's_mama · 05-29-2004, 04:22 AM

hmm ok this kinda freaked me out.

My son (15 mos) has one top front tooth that has a thin lil brown line toward the end of his tooth ie not close to the gums

is this dental caries? I did a quick search and the pictures of it in early and later stages look nothing like what my son has.

When I was a babe my parents were told to give me gatorade at night in a bottle (i was bf'ed till 6mos old in 1977 not too bad).
The sugar from the gatorade bacially at the enamel off of my baby teeth.
I ended up having capped teeth in the front and having a molar pulled because of it.
When my adult teeth came in I never had a singer problem. Nice beautifull teeth.

I soooooooooo dont want to put my precious baby through what I went through as a toddler.

oh my son (obiviously) doesnt get gatorade in a bottle lol.
He doesnt even use a bottle. Only nana (nursing) day and night.
Along w/some water and ice and the rare occasion juice during the day.
Mostly though his main source for thirst is still me.

His diet consist of 60-85% breastmilk. He eats things in moderation. some cookies but not much. fruits and veggies, a little dairy and some meat.

Id really hate to do anything at this age unless it will have a long term affect like, to his adult teeth.

they still look normal and pretty except that one tooth w/the brown line.

Ive had that brown line in my mind for awhile.

thoughts..please??

soul4five · 05-29-2004, 08:21 AM

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. If you would really rather see the line go away, try the butter oil . They're out of stock until the middle of June, but it really does work.

Dental issues are mostly an underlying health and development issue, more than a food issue. Good luck!

Robin · 05-29-2004, 09:03 AM

My first thought is to find a dentist who agree that it is a genetic issue not a bf issue.

G nursed longer than E but E has dental caries. He has 4 capped teeth and 8 other small fillings.