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- $Unique_ID{BRK00188}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Can Breast Feeding Cause Crooked Teeth?}
- $Subject{teeth nursing motherhood Digestive System Breast Feeding Feed
- Breast-Feeding Breast-Feed breast-fed Crooked tooth newborns newborn infants
- infant child care}
- $Volume{S-11}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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- Can Breast Feeding Cause Crooked Teeth?
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- QUESTION: We are developing a dangerous generation-gap between my mother and
- myself concerning the hazards of breast feeding to developing teeth. She has
- a whole list of abnormalities which she claims are due to the effort my baby
- seems to be putting out during feedings. Can this really cause crooked teeth
- later on, or am I developing maternal anxieties unnecessarily?
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- ANSWER: Put your worries aside, and let mother read this. My authority is no
- less than the Academy of General Dentistry, and they are all for breast
- feeding and the nutritional and psychological benefits it provides newborns
- and infants, but now feel there may be definite advantages to tooth
- development as well. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Public
- Health which reviewed the dental history of more than 9000 children to see if
- teeth were crooked and then with history of breast feeding, indicates that
- children bottle fed or breast fed for less than a year had a 40% greater
- chance of misaligned teeth than breast fed babies. It seems that during
- breast feeding the babies develop stronger mouth muscles as they work at
- suckling, as your child does, and that the result is proper growth and
- alignment of teeth. As this and other advantages of this natural nutrition
- become more and more apparent, the numbers of mothers breast feeding their
- babies has increased 31% to 56% from the low of 25% in 1970. It's time your
- mother caught up with you and the millions of mothers providing their babies
- with the best nutrition possible--mother's milk.
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- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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