The Spanish Society of Orthodontics (SEDO) has defended the benefits of breastfeeding for the correct oral development of babies, thus avoiding having to resort to orthodontics in later stages of life. “When the child is born, the size of the upper jaw is larger than the lower jaw, and the lower jaw is usually in a more distal (rearward) position in relation to the upper jaw.
Breast sucking encourages the mandible to advance from its distal position with respect to the maxilla to a mesial position, since the oral muscles are stimulated. Breastfeeding has the sucking phase (the baby seals the nipple with his mouth) and organization (the baby brings his jaw forward to express milk),” according to the President of the Spanish Society of Orthodontics.
According to him, “it has been proven that breastfed babies are less likely to have jaw size discrepancies than those who were bottle-fed only.” He also adds that breastfeeding “contributes to avoiding dentomaxillofacial anomalies, dental malocclusions (especially open bite), and having to wear orthodontics in the future.”
He adds that, “by promoting adequate development of the oral muscles, it favors the correct suction-swallow-breathing function, thus babies who have only taken a bottle have a greater risk of atypical swallowing, chewing dysfunction, difficulties in phonoarticulation of language, breathing. oral, etc. Another advantage is that it prevents the acquisition of oral habits that are harmful to the oral cavity, such as thumb sucking or the tendency to put things in the mouth, since the longer they are breast fed, the less they suck their thumb or resort to pacifiers.”
From the Spanish Society of Orthodontics they remember that, "especially when breastfeeding, oral hygiene routines must begin from the moment the first teeth appear, normally between 6 and 9 months, to prevent so-called infant cavities." According to what they say, “breast milk is not the source of these early childhood cavities, but it is essential that babies' teeth are clean, especially when sleeping, because both breast and artificial milk contain sugars that if left there overnight They can cause these very problematic cavities. As breastfeeding usually occurs on demand, this normally implies that the breast is also breastfed at night, and without cleaning the baby's mouth after the night feeding. It is this lack of oral hygiene when the child already has teeth that can cause cavities, not breastfeeding.
