Breastfeeding a young toddler does not protect the child against early tooth decay, decay sometimes seen in bottle-fed babies.  Dr. Niessen explains that breastfeeding at bedtime and throughout the night can cause cavities in baby teeth.

STORY: BREASTFEEDING and CAVITIES

SCRIPT #519 SHOOT: 7/17, 8/12/03

AIRDATE: Monday, August 18, 2003

Daybreak and Midday

DHC Master #18 Timecode: 14:53 Breast feeding provides the best

nutrition for infants. But does

it prevent tooth decay in toddlers?

Dr. Linda Niessen reports that

breastfeeding does not protect

against cavities. Details in

in today’s segment of Dental

SOVT: 1:43 Health Check.

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BREASTFEEDING (VOICE-OVER)

Breast milk is high in sugar, just like

infant formula or cow’s milk. A toddler

SPENCER AT DENTIST who nurses frequently, often at bedtime

and through the night, may develop

cavities in baby teeth.

SPENCER AND MOM: LORI DRUMM (“I just took him to bed with me and

nursed him all night.”)

This is what happened to young

Spencer.

SUPER: Lori Drumm :21-26 (“I knew on one hand that you aren’t

Spencer’s Mother supposed to put a baby in bed with a

bottle and that it would affect their teeth.”

DR. NIESSEN: “But did you think it

would be the same with nursing?”

LORI: “Actually, it didn’t even enter

my mind.”)

LORI WITH DENTIST Lori Drumm noticed that Spencer’s

front teeth were soft. He had developed four cavities.

SUPER: Dr. Robert Morgan (“A mom that nurses, and then the

Pediatric Dentist :40-45 baby goes to sleep for 20 to 30

minutes, and then the baby wakes

up and nurses a little again, a little

again and a little again.”)

Page 2 Breastfeeding and Cavities

DR. MORGAN Dr. Robert Morgan, a pediatric dentist,

sees early childhood cavities, also called nursing mouth tooth decay, in some children who sleep in a family bed.

DR. MORGAN going into o.r. (“Or whether it is mother’s milk, or

with Spencer bottled milk, or juice, or juice out of

a cup, when you eat or drink, right

before you go to bed, for 20 minutes

you make decay.”)

SPENCER IN O.R. Because Spencer is just 20 months old,

his dental work takes place in an operating room at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Under anesthesia,

Spencer has the decay removed and his baby teeth capped.

LORI DRUMM (“You just think you are doing a good

thing for your child. Don’t take your

child to bed with you.”)

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen Spencer recovered quickly and is fine

Baylor College of Dentistry today. He is learning how to brush

1:25-1:30 his teeth. But meanwhile, his mother

brushes them for him, taking

control until Spencer develops the

coordination to do it on his own.

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas

A & M System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen

Channel 8 News.

ANCHOR TAG:

The American Academy of Pediatrics

recommends breastfeeding during the first year of life.