Breastfeeding and Dental Caries Looking at the Evidence

Dental caries and prolonged breastfeeding still trigger much debate among professionals and parents. Some mothers are still being told to discontinue breastfeeding their toddlers because of cavities in the mouth. Parents often feel very discouraged and upset when they are forced to stop breastfeeding their toddlers. Dental caries is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood, and is a disease of multifactorial etiology. This paper reviews the literature on dental caries and breastfeeding. This review revealed that there was no conclusive evidence that prolonged breastfeeding increased the risk of early childhood cavities.