Fwd: Breastfeeding & Cavities??-Unbelievable assumptions

[Guest guest]

arnoldgore

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 07:39:56 EDT

Breastfeeding & Cavities??-Unbelievable assumptions

 

Subj: breastfeeding & cavities

9/22/2003 10:03:28 AM Eastern Standard Time

 

The policy-making dentists, tampering with nature again, were discussing how

breastfeeding can cause cavities and " what to do, what to do, " When Aubrey

Sheiham from England made this insightful post

 

 

 

Dear Bob,

In response to your two questions namely:

 

 

do listserv members believe there is currently enough evidence to:

1) purport that breastfeeding at will is a cause of early childhood caries?

 

There is no well documented evidence that breastfeeding at will is a cause of

early childhood caries. If one considers that at least one third (most probably

half) of all babies in the world are breast fed at will and are caries free if

no added sugars are given to them, then the few isolated anecdotal not well

controlled case reports where a claim is made that it does, pales into

insignificance.

 

Over evolutionary time all babies were breast fed at will for the first 2 years

of life. From fossil evidence they were caries free. From my study in Nigeria in

1967 it is clear that there was no caries in babies and all were breast fed at

will for up to 2 years ( Sheiham A. 'The prevalence of dental caries in Nigerian

populations', British Dental Journal, 123, 144-148, 1967).

 

Most mothers in Africa, India and China who breastfeed do not need to wipe their

childrens teeth and all that rubbish. When the child is weaned they eat complex

carbohydrates and still do not develop caries. Moss should provide evidence for

his claims. We cannot find any evidence. And when I say we that is my review for

Eurodiat and Paula Moynihan's review for the WHO. (Sheiham A. Dietary effects on

dental diseases. Public Health Nutrition 2001: 4(2b); 569-591. Paula Moynihan,

Diet, nutrition and the prevention of dental disease, Joint WHO/FAO

expertconsultation on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases,

Geneva, Switzerland 28 January - 1 February 2002.)

 

From what I have said the answer to your second question is an emphatic no.

There is no basis for a recommendation against breastfeeding at will.

 

Aubrey Sheiham

 

(Professor Aubrey Sheiham, B.D.S., Ph.D., D.H.C, Professor of Dental Public

Health, University College London,

Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health to Camden and Islington Health

Authorities.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology/staff/sheiham.html

 

CK

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

http://tinyurl.com/ad9k

 

Fluoride Action Network

http://www.fluoridealert.org

 

 

 

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