Breast milk is the best gift a mother can bring to her baby! It is the most natural, safe and complete natural food for growing babies. Recommended by WHO as the perfect food for newborns, the slightly yellow and viscous milk is produced at the end of pregnancy. It contains all the nutrients and antibodies that babies need to grow. The intimacy and bonding of breastfeeding stimulates the development of the baby’s brain and mind. As a dentist, you are often asked the question: Can breastfeeding cause tooth decay? Let’s look at what the World Health Organization says: WHO and UNICEF recommend: breastfeeding one hour after birth; exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life; and the addition of nutritious and safe complementary (solid) foods at six months of age, while continuing breastfeeding until two years of age or older. So, what are the benefits of breastfeeding? For infants up to 6 months of age, exclusive breastfeeding prevents intestinal infections. Breastfeeding as early as possible (one hour after delivery) prevents newborn infections and reduces neonatal mortality. For children 6-23 months of age, breast milk is also an important source of energy and nutrients. Breast milk provides half or more of the energy needed for infants 6-12 months of age and one-third of the energy needed for infants 12-24 months of age. Breastmilk is also an important source of energy and nutrients for affected children and may reduce mortality in malnourished children. Adults who were breastfed as children are less likely to be overweight or obese. Children and adolescents who are breastfed have better scores on intelligence tests. The above is the introduction of the World Health Organization about breastfeeding, breastfeeding has the advantage that no other nutrition can replace. Does breastfeeding cause tooth decay? Some studies also believe that breastfeeding can prevent dental caries, is this true? Let’s take a look at the cause of tooth decay first: it is the decomposition of sugar (carbohydrates) by cariogenic bacteria in the mouth to produce tooth-destroying substances, which leads to the destruction of teeth and causes tooth decay. At present, there is no way to prevent the cariogenic bacteria from planting in our mouth, only the presence of sugar can cause tooth decay. Therefore, theoretically speaking, breast milk containing sugar may cause tooth decay. However, the sugar in breast milk exists in the form of lactose and contains more fiber. When breastfeeding alone, the residual sugar in the mouth is less, so it is generally not easy to cause tooth decay. After 6 months, with the addition of supplementary food, cariogenic bacteria gradually start to colonize in the baby’s mouth, such as not being able to clean thoroughly after eating, so that part of the food residue stays on the surface of the teeth. In the case that the saliva secretion is greatly reduced during the night sleep, if the milk sleep or repeated night milk is not cleaned effectively, then the sugar in breast milk and supplementary food is likely to cause tooth decay. To put it simply: breast milk itself is not easy to cause dental caries, but it can promote the occurrence and progress of dental caries under certain conditions. As a dentist, my opinion is: breastfeeding is the most beneficial feeding method for baby’s healthy development. Breast milk should be provided to the baby as much as possible and fed on demand, while avoiding the habit of forming milk sleep. After starting to add complementary foods (around 6 months), start to gradually reduce the number of night feedings and avoid overfeeding.