Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Caries: A Review

Breast milk is the first and foremost nutrition a child receives. The enormous benefits of breast feeding have been well documented over the years. However its association with early childhood caries (ECC) has been a constant subject of debate. The etiology of ECC is multifactorial thus posing a difficulty in attributing the risk towards a single factor. The increased duration and frequency of breastfeeding along with poor dietary habits and oral hygiene practices have been reported as contributing factors for ECC. Certain constituents of breast milk have an inhibitory effect on Streptococcus mutans, the major organism implicated in the initiation of ECC. Awareness of ECC and its preventive strategies should be emphasized to young mothers along with the importance of nutrition obtained from breast milk and the benefits of breast feeding. This review is a consolidation of various factors that have been conferred as being associated with breast feeding and ECC.