Natural Health with Megan Sheppard: Help with teething and glaucoma

Q. My 18-month old daughter has terrible problems with her teeth. She is missing enamel on two teeth and has a number of cavities and brown patches on her teeth, in particular her front top teeth. I took her to the doctor recently and he said it is because I breastfeed her during the night. She eats very healthy snacks, and I don’t give her sweets, juice, or other junk foods. What can I do about her teeth? I am not convinced that breastfeeding is causing these problems.

A. You are quite correct, in that breastmilk in itself does not cause cavities. The problem is that once cavities or damage to the enamel appears, the breastmilk may exacerbate the existing issues.

Early childhood caries affects around a tenth of all infants, and the cause is the bacteria Streptococcus mutans. Children diagnosed with early childhood caries tend to have Streptococcus mutans levels that are up to 100 times higher than average. This bacteria can be spread easily by saliva contact, through sharing food, utensils, and cups, and even a kiss.