The Effect of Prolonged and Exclusive Breast-Feeding on Dental Caries in Early School-Age ChildrenNew Evidence from a Large Randomized Trial
Authors: Kramer, Vanilovich, et. al.
Journal: Caries Research
2007;41:484-488
Major Topic: Effect of prolonged breast-feeding on caries in young children.
Findings: This was the largest randomized trial ever conducted in the area of human lactation and it found no evidence of beneficial or harmful effects of prolonged and exclusive breast-feeding on dental caries at early age.
Stuff: There has been mixed findings in the past concerning breast-feeding and cariogenicity. This article sites several of these articles, but most of the research has been purely observational. That is what makes this randomized trial so special.
The study was performed at health clinics in Belarus. There were two groups, with one as a control and the other receiving a pro-breast-feeding intervention--basically breast-feeding motivational interviewing. The result was that the experimental group did a lot more breast-feeding and for longer periods of time.
In all, 13,889 children were followed over a 6.5 year period. Dental examinations were performed using mirror only and the DMFT surfaces were recorded.
Conclusions: Although there were some weaknesses in the study, which the authors point out in the beginning, it's nice to see have some more data on this subject. Let's just let the moms breast-feed.
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