Science is merely a man-made tool to help us methodically analyze natural phenomena. So when I hear a mother’s story about a dentist who told her to stop breastfeeding her 1 year old child, I ask the question WHY?? What does this dentist understand about the complex relationship between mother and child?
For eons mammals have been nutritionally, emotionally, and physically supporting their offspring through the magic that is breast milk. The mystery, of course, is how does the body “know” the exact balance of nutrients, hormones, and antibodies for the specific stage of life of that child?
The common theme for my research into true healing has been, trust in nature. Absolutely, we must pursue knowledge and gain insight into the inner workings of nature. But at the end of the day, wisdom trumps any amount of knowledge. As you may have guessed, mother nature, the universe, God, whatever you believe in is wisdom.
Before I begin to discuss the top dental benefits of breastfeeding, please understand why I believe the mouth is so important to overall health. When isolated, the mouth is just another part of the body. And sometimes we humans have a habit of hyper focusing on one part, only to forget the whole.
Through the latest evidence-based research, western medicine is beginning to understand the complex relationship between the oral cavity and the rest of the body. If the eyes are the window to your soul, the mouth is the portal to your overall health. This relationship is called the mouth-body connection.
Please share this information with anyone that you believe may benefit. Join me on the journey to discovering true health, and let me guide you to becoming the CEO of your own health.
1. Immune system development & support
Would you like to protect and strengthen your baby’s immune system using a SAFE, PORTABLE, NATURAL, and AFFORDABLE medicine? Well…you can. Breast milk has a vital protective effect on the baby’s early immune defense system against many diseases and infections. This includes both bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens.
For me, I’m amazed by how the food source for our precious babies changes to suit the needs of the child through the different stages of lactation. For example, the first secretion of the breast is a liquid called colostrum. This happens to be secreted during an especially vulnerable time of the infant when their immune system is underdeveloped.
“Human breast milk, and especially the early colostrum, contains measurable levels of leukocytes.”¹ Leukocytes are the white blood cells that destroy pathogens. It is important to note that there may be some life-long protection against chronic diseases as well.¹ As the baby’s needs change, the breast milk composition changes too.
Protecting your baby from illnesses and chronic diseases makes breast feeding a top defense mechanism and the healthiest thing you can do for your baby’s mouth and overall health. Mom also benefits from breastfeeding. While not studied as thoroughly, there is evidence for short-term health and long-term disease prevention for the mothers.
The following are just some benefits for mom: reduction in postpartum bleeding, involute uterus, facilitation of positive metabolic changes, postpartum weight loss, stress reduction, delayed ovulation, reduction of type 2 diabetes risk, reduction in cardiovascular disease risk, reduction in breast and ovarian cancer risk. ⁷
2. Calcium deposition & Vitamin K2
Have you ever heard someone say that they have weak teeth and it runs in their family? Well, I’m here to say NO and YES it does. Is that a confusing sentence? Well it should be. Here’s the deal, except for a very tiny percentage of the population who have a genetic disorder all people have the “data” to build strong and perfect teeth. The data is in the DNA.
As an illustration, DNA is equivalent to a blueprint for a house. The architect draws a perfectly designed home, and it’s up to the general contractor to select quality resources and materials to build your home. There’s nothing wrong with the blueprints or your DNA!
Now, if the contractor cuts corners, she may use cheaper and less strong wood to build your walls. Instead of using quality insulation, she might use straw from a neighboring farmer. These sub-par supplies are going to inevitably lead to a weak and inefficient home.
The mother and all of the environmental factors are the “contractor”, so it is critical to nutritionally, physically, and emotionally support the mother before pregnancy, during, and post pregnancy. If you’ve ever had a baby, you understand the tremendous amount of energy that is required.
Nutrients such as vitamin K2 are unfortunately becoming less available in our commercial food system.³ Therefore, you must ensure sufficient quality foods are available to support both baby and mom. If you need any help with this I can connect you with a nutritional therapy practitioner who understands these concepts well.
Vitamin K2 is an essential nutrient for many biological processes, but specifically for this blog post it is vital in proper tooth formation. Your baby’s primary teeth and permanent teeth both start developing while in the womb! Vitamin K2 is needed for two essential tooth formation proteins called MGP (matrix gla protein) and osteocalcin.⁴
Vitamin K2 is deficient in most people.⁴ It has been realized that the breast milk is also deficient in Vitamin K2 when the mother is not eating healthy wholesome foods.² Eating pesticide, fungicide and GMO free foods rich in Vitamins and minerals and getting enough sunshine (Vitamin D3) is in my opinion the best way to help your child develop their teeth to their fullest genetic potential.
Lastly, it is important for me to say that fluoride is NOT an essential nutrient. In fact, the evidence is mounting against water fluoridation due to the ineffectiveness in preventing decay and evidence of harm to humans.⁵ Remember that you would not use substandard materials to build your family home. Make sure you drink clean and quality water for optimal health for you and baby. Learn more about clean water by clicking here.
3. Oral-Gut microbiome
The human microbiome is the name for all of the microbes that live on and in our bodies. We need to learn to love our germy friends, and not be afraid of bacteria, fungi, viruses etc. In fact, we would not be here if it weren’t for them. Yes, it is true that some microbes when not in balance with nature can go from harmless to harmful (pathogenic). Our society has unfortunately brainwashed us through marketing to believe that all germs are bad. That is far from the truth. We are actually a super-organism with microbes that help us survive.
Human breast milk is not a sterile fluid.⁶ It has so many beneficial bacteria that help your baby develop a healthy balance of microbes. The mother’s microbiome is colonizing the baby during gestation, birth, and even through the act of breastfeeding.⁶ This is one of the reasons why it is so important for the mom to have immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth.
Breastfed babies get anaerobic gut bacteria from the breast milk, which is essential for proper gut health.⁶ I suspect that breastmilk and breastfeeding also establishes a healthy oral microbiome as well. As more research is performed in this area, I believe we will learn to live in harmony with our microbe friends.
4. Maxillofacial development
Last, and arguably the most important dental benefit of breastfeeding is a beautiful dance of form equals function and function contributes to form. Now what do I mean by this? Lets just walk through the example.
The shape of the newborn’s face is perfect to latch and adapt to the mother’s breast, whilst allowing breathing and feeding at the same time.⁸ Consequently, breathing through the nasal airway and exercising the oral-facial muscles while feeding allows the jaws and face to develop favorably.⁸
The favorable development of the maxillo-facial structures during breastfeeding will encourage habitual nose breathing. This in turn develops a strong open airway. And finally, a properly formed airway will add many years to your child’s adult life by reducing the odds of snoring, open mouth breathing, and obstructive sleep apnea. Other benefits include better speech development, avoiding crooked and crowded teeth, and reduction in the risk of cavities due to dry mouth among many others.
As you can see, a change in the circumstances early on can have a major impact on the child’s whole life. If you are having difficulty breastfeeding there are so many support groups and professionals available to help. If you do not wish to breastfeed or can’t breastfeed it’s okay. The body is an amazing creation that can adapt well.
The important thing to remember is that there are still options, in the event the maxillofacial structures have not formed properly. There is a lesser known philosophy of orthodontics that focuses on aiding the jaws to grow to their optimal size called orthotropics.⁸ It appears that we may even be able to accomplish this in fully grown adults through the use of orthotropic techniques and devices.⁹
If you are a new mom we have some excellent tips from our guest blogger Melanie Horstman, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). You can read Melanie’s blog post by clicking on the link here!
- Jackson, Kelly M, and Andrea M Nazar. “Breastfeeding, the Immune Response, and Long-Term Health.” The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, vol. 106, no. 4, 2019, pp. 203–207, jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2093315. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.
- Ballard, Olivia, and Ardythe L. Morrow. “Human Milk Composition.” Pediatric Clinics of North America, vol. 60, no. 1, Feb. 2013, pp. 49–74, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3586783/, 10.1016/j.pcl.2012.10.002. Accessed 26 June 2019.
- Dickson Thom. Bioregulatory Medicine : An Innovative Holistic Approach to Self-Healing. White River Junction, Vermont, Chelsea Green Publishing, Oct. 2018.
- Rheaume-Bleue, Kate. Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox – How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save. Harpercollins Publishers Inc, 2013.
- Connett, P H, et al. The Case against Fluoride : How Hazardous Waste Ended up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There. White River Junction, Vt., Chelsea Green Pub, 2010.
- Gomez-Gallego, Carlos, et al. “The Human Milk Microbiome and Factors Influencing Its Composition and Activity.” Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, vol. 21, no. 6, Dec. 2016, pp. 400–405, 10.1016/j.siny.2016.05.003. Accessed 7 Mar. 2020.
- Dieterich, Christine M., et al. “Breastfeeding and Health Outcomes for the Mother-Infant Dyad.” Pediatric Clinics of North America, vol. 60, no. 1, Feb. 2013, pp. 31–48, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3508512/, 10.1016/j.pcl.2012.09.010.
- Kahn, Sandra, and Paul R Ehrlich. Jaws : The Story of a Hidden Epidemic. Stanford, California, Stanford University Press, 2018.
- Liao, Felix. Six-Foot Tiger, Three-Foot Cage : Take Charge of Your Health by Taking Charge of Your Mouth : Holistic Mouth Solutions for Sleep Apnea, Deficient Jaws, and Related Complications. Carlsbad, Ca, Crescendo Publishing Llc, 2017.
