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Most adults who taste breast milk for the first time are usually surprised by the sugary taste.
A cup of milk contains approximately 17gms of sugar. The sugar level is naturally tailored to fit the nutritional needs of infants but what is the effect when children breastfeed for years?
A new study says that children who are breastfed for two years or longer are more likely to have dental cavities. The researchers observed 1,129 children in Pelotas, Brazil over a period of 5 years and brought them to a dentist at age 5. Among the children in the study, 23.9 per cent had severe cavities and 48 per cent had at least one tooth surface affected by a cavity. Kids who were breastfed for two years or longer had a 2.4 times higher risk of having severe cavities, compared to kids who were breastfed for less than a year.
Dr. Karen Peres, lead author of the study and associate professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia, says this is possible because children who are exposed to breastfeeding beyond 24 months are usually those breastfed on demand and at night and this makes it very difficult to clean teeth in this specific period. However, the study found that breastfeeding between 12 and 23 months did not bring with it a higher risk of cavities. If you choose to breastfeed for long be, sure that you're also employing preventative methods to avoid cavities.
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