A study has followed around 1,300 babies for roughly 5 years to get to know how they and their dental statuses fared. As reported in WebMD, a study by the University of Adelaide in Australia lead by Karen Peres was made by tracking down these children. They were observed as to how often or not they were breast-fed, whether or not their parents made them use pacifiers. They were tracked at 3 months, 1 year, 2 years and 4 years old. It was then known that around 40 percent of these kids used pacifiers.
One more important result was found about breastfeeding. The more babies are breast-fed, the lesser the chances for them to have teeth misalignment later on as they grow up. Dr. Joanna Pierro, a Staten Island University Hospital pediatric chief resident, stated, "While most benefits of breast-feeding can be attributed to the breast-milk, this study highlights one of the ways that the actual act of breast-feeding imparts its own benefits."
"While it is well established that exclusively breast-fed babies are at a decreased risk of dental malocclusion [misalignment], this study revealed the differences between those exclusively breast-fed versus those who are predominantly breast-fed,"said Pierro. She concluded that since there are also many babies who are fed breast milk through a bottle, this has a big effect on the oral cavities. Dr. Pierro is not directly connected to the study.
Yet this benefit can be downplayed by the use of pacifiers. According to this research, even if there is continued breastfeeding, pacifier usage can still negate the good effects of exclusive breastfeeding.
There are several dental problems seen and obeserved by the study, among thesea are open bite, cross bite, overbite with moderate to severe conditions.
It was found that those who were exclusively breastfed for 3 to 6 months had a onne-third lower risk of having an overbite compared to those who did not have exclusive breastfeeding for the same period. If they did so for more than 6 months, the risk became even more lower by 44 percent.
Relatively, children who were exclusively breastfed for 3 to 6 months have a 41 percent less likelihood of a moderate to severe teeth misalignment. A skyjump of 74 percent less likelihood of this condition even results from exclusively breastfeeding for more than 6 months.
Pierro explained this occurrence. "The plausible mechanisms which may explain the association between exclusive breast-feeding and lower risk of having [misaligned teeth or jaws] . . . include the adequate development of the orofacial structures in children who are breast-fed, such as proper muscular tone and nasal breathing," Peres said. "In addition, children who are breast-fed are less likely to use a pacifier, which is considered a risk factor for malocclusion," as quoted by NLM.NIH.Gov.
The study found that there are less cases of overbite and severe teeth misalignment among those who were exclusively breastfed but the chances became higher for those who were using pacifiers.
