Metal Mouth Message Board

nahky wrote:(Yes, this post is related to braces)

I was having a discussion with a friend the other day. She mentioned some documentary she saw about braces. Then we started talking about teeth. I mentioned that her teeth were straight. She said "yeah, because I was a breastfed baby".

I kind of saw her point of view, she spoke very ademently about the idea that all breastfed babies will have straight teeth. I know this isnt true because some heridity factors cannot be stopped. But I also do know that bottle-sucking and other factors of a non-breastfed baby can affect the growth of teeth.

I just found it interesting because out of all my siblings (I have 3 older sisters and one older brother) They were all breastfed, they all have straight teeth, and proper aligned jaws. Me on the otherhand, was a bottlefed baby , I have an underbite and slightly crooked teeth, my front two teeth splayed outwards. I was on the bottle until i was 4 i was told (how bad is that!)

So im just putting this question out there, Because this is the best forum to get this query out there. Because everyone here requires braces to an extent.

So, if you know, Were you a breastfed or bottle fed baby???

Just wondering if theres any strong correlation

tell us your thoughts on the matter

Interesting. I've heard something along these lines before as well. Don't know that I've heard it put so definitely though.

I was not a breast fed baby, but dangit I nursed all my kids, and the last one for 18 months! I'm going to test this theory.

I thought this was a rather interesting topic since I nursed my duaghter for an extended amount of time... This is what I found on a Breastfeeding website.

"A strong association was found between exclusive bottle-feeding and anteroposterior malocclusion. Davis DW, Bell PA. "Infant feeding practices and occlusal outcomes: a longitudinal study." J Can Dent Assoc 1991 Jul;57(7):593-4

Among breastfed infants, the longer the duration of nursing the lower the incidence of malocclusion. Labbok, M.H. "Does Breast Feeding Protect against Malocclusion? An Analysis of the 1981 Child Health Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey". American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1987."

It is much easier for babies to get milk from a bottle and takes much less effort so the jaws are not exercised properly during this rapid time of growth.. However I do think genetics do play a role because my husband was bottlefed and he has the most perfect bite and teeth and never needed braces...

I was not a breast fed baby, but dangit I nursed all my kids, and the last one for 18 months! I'm going to test this theory.

same here mtbrncofn! I am gonna test this theory too!

i was breastfed, and my teeth are sort of aligned.

2 of my siblings were breastfed, one had horrible teeth, and the otherone has not perfect but not "complaining" teeth my youngest sister was breastfed but mum stopped coz she couldnt tolerate milk so she started with bottles with special sort of milk, now she is 10 and she has beauiful really eautiful teeth!!, except for one canine that i guess is growing a little to high up.

anyways, i think everyone is different so theres no rule, could be coincidences, but not rules.

I was breast fed, and I have (well, had) crooked teeth. My sister was bottle fed mostly, and she's eight years old, just getting her teeth in, and she's developing the exact same bite I had (she sees my orthodontist, too!). I think it's due to genetics, not whether you breast feed or not!

I was breast fed and so was my sister. My sister has kinda straight teeth and as for me, I had a lot of problems with overjet, over crowding etc. I dont think that it was becoz of genetics but becoz of the fact that I was injured when I was abt 6..I fell down straight on my face, broke all my baby teeth and my gums swelled up. It was swollen for quite some time, maybe a year or so and during that time I got all my permanent teeth and it all came out in different directions.

I was bottle fed and had a pacifier as well. I have straight teeth and really the only problems I had were a HUGE gap between my front two teeth and a lower jaw that's 5mm too short which resulted in crowding and a deep bite. My 4-year-old daughter was bottle fed and had a pacifier and she has the EXACT gap between her front teeth as I did but it's looks as if all of her teeth are going to be spaced out (she has plenty of room in there!!). Either way, she'll need braces just like her Mommy! So I'm thinking use of bottle/pacifier and finger/thumb sucking vs. breastfeeding plays a role but definitely is not the root of all orthodontic problems

Some interesting experiences from everyone

I just noticed that a few people reckoned that bottle/breast feeding has no effect whatsoever so I thought I'd point out that it's actually proven that bottlefeeding increases the risk of orthodontic defects. It doesn't mean it guarantees them, just makes them more likely. Equally of course breastfeeding won't guarantee perfect teeth if you have a genetic predisposition to any kind of malocclusion.

The link I put up in my first post explains a lot. Someone else posted some interesting articles too

I was breast-fed for 2 years and I had AWFUL teeth... although I had a very good bite, it was just my front teeth that had (and still, to some extent, have) problems.

My sister was the same - exclusively breast-fed with very crowded teeth.

I'm a HUGE supporter of breast-feeding, but I'm not sure it's a big contributor... interesting idea though. Maybe I'll read the study.

I was also breast fed and I had straight teeth...go figure

I was bottle fed, but my daughter was breast fed for two years. She has her father's bite (just fine) and my mother's crowded teeth. She sucked her thumb until she lost her baby teeth (that was the deal we made), and aside from crowding, which I don't think a bottle vs breast could have done anything about, her bite is nothing like mine. She will eventually get braces, but I am sure her course of treatment will not involve surgery like mine.

I was breast fed and when my adult teeth came down they were absolutely awful (before the first round of braces). In fact, the original orthodontist asked my mum if I had had a serious fall of some sort as a child (how that would correlate I don't know). I hadn't - so my teeth were a mystery! Interesting though...

I think my brothers and I were all breastfed. While I had fairly straight teeth, I had a gap between my front teeth. My oldest brother had the same gap and only had a couple permanent teeth---the rest were baby teeth!! The middle brother has nice teeth besides a slight overlap of this front teeth.

Genetics seems to be the problem with my brothers and me.

This particular issue has been brought up as a cause for malformation of the palate also, and has been sited as a cause of sleep apnea in individuals. It seems after many studies that there is a proportionate number of folks who were bottle fed and have developed retronathic jawlines,overjets, or small palates supposedly due to bottle feeding. In the studies I read on this they did not find hardly any folks who had been breast fed with sleep apnea concerns. They postulate that it is due to the actual sucking mechanics and that even though bottle nipples have changed significantly over the years they still can not replace the oral benefits that come from breast feeding especially as they relate to sleep apnea.

Personally I was bottle fed, I have a retronathic jaw, an overjet, and sleep apnea...go figure. My teeth were relatively straight but my palate was also very small. My son was breast fed only, he had beautiful teeth with only very mild crowding on the bottom. His whole teeth placement resembled mine very closely. We had him braced so they would be totally straight, but he had no palate, jaw, or overjet issues at all. I think the bottle vs breastfed issues is more in line with palate development and that it probably has a very minimal effect on the way the teeth come in. JMHO

Brandy

Bottle fed baby.

I think I'd still have crooked teeth if I'd been breast fed - although I think my teeth would have been stronger. I have half a tooth missing at the bottom because my nail broke when I was out & I tried to bite it off and the tooth broke first!

My daughter was breast fed upto 6 months and didn;t get her first teeth (1st 2 on the same day) untill she was 8 months. These came through like \ /. She really stands no chance with her teeth with me & the OH as her parents!

I was breast fed.....I still need braces to fix my bite and my crooked bottom teeth.