Breastfeeding and Baby’s Oral Health

How Breastfeeding May Improve Your Child’s Oral Health

For most new mothers, breastfeeding is a personal choice and something they decide on based on their own feelings as well as the information they gather on the subject. While there are many reasons why breastfeeding is considered great for newborn children, a new discovery has provided even more evidence as to why mothers should consider it – breastfeeding may be beneficial for the oral health of infants. Researchers believe that breastfeeding makes children less likely to have misalignment issues.

The study referenced was conducted at the University of Adelaide in Australia and followed the dental health of over 1,300 children for a period of five years. The study took into account how much the children were breastfed at three months old, one year, and two years old and how often the children were using a pacifier at the same stages. About 40 percent of the children followed in the study did use a pacifier, most of them for a period of four years. When the children turned five years old, researchers began to look at any alignment issues they may have.

While looking at any misalignment issues the children had, the researchers also took note of any jaw conditions that developed including cross bite, open bite, overbite, and moderate to severe misalignment of their teeth. The results of the study were telling – those children who were exclusively breastfed had a one-third lower risk for overbite compared to those who were not and those who were breastfed for a period of six months or more saw the risk of overbite drop by about 45 percent.

In addition to these findings, those children who were exclusively breastfed for a period of three to six months were over 40 percent less likely to develop moderate to severe misalignment of their teeth and breastfeeding period of six months or more saw their risk of developing severe misalignments drop by over 70 percent. The findings of the University of Adelaide studies were published in the Journal of Pediatrics around the middle of June of this year.

Overbite, open bite, and moderate to severe misalignment of the teeth and jaw were generally less common in the children who were exclusively and even mostly breastfed. Conversely, those children who were breastfed but also used a pacifier were slightly more likely to develop one of the alignment issues mentioned above. With that being said, it does not mean that parents should toss the pacifiers right now – pacifier use is associated with a lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

If you have a newborn, it may be time to sign up for a family discount dental plan to ensure your child’s oral health is maintained from day one. The Wellness Dental Plan can save you as much as 20 percent off all dental bills and is very affordable. For more information on our plans, click here.

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