Article information
Year 2018 Volume 68 Issue 4 Page 329-338
Title:
Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Caries
Keyword(s):
Breast milk, Breastfeeding behaviors, Dental caries
Abstract:
Human breast milk is still the best nutritional source for the baby especially in the first year of life. Human
breast milk is composed of immunologic compounds and proteins that were shown to interfere and inhibit bacterial
adhesion and colonization. However, it also contains lactose, the main sugar in the human breast milk, that
Streptococcus mutans can utilize and produce acid in dental plaque. Many studies have tried to find the relationship
between breastfeeding and dental caries. In last decades, breastfeeding behaviors and dental caries have been
studied extensively. The results often varied depending on the criteria used for oral examination, ages of the children
studied, definitions of breastfeeding patterns and other confounding factors included in each studies. Some studies
found a relationship between breastfeeding and dental caries, some studies failed to find the relationship, while
some studies found the protective effects against dental caries from breastfeeding. So far, the relationship between
breastfeeding and dental caries is still inconclusive. Thus, the objective of this review article is to present the