Poor dental health due to improper feeding may be a major cause of slowed growth in young children. According to the study authors, many cases of slowed growth among children have no clear cause and remain baffling and frustrating for both physicians and families. The investigators believe that serious levels of tooth decay in early childhood may alter eating and sleeping patterns, thereby causing a decrease in age-adjusted weight in older children. When the tooth decay is brought under control, normal sleep and nutrition resumes, allowing toddlers a chance to achieve their expected growth potential. To help avoid early childhood tooth decay, the dental experts recommend that parents wipe their infant's gums with a damp cloth after each feeding, and warn against letting babies fall asleep while sucking on bottles containing milk, juices or other sweet liquids.

Pediatric Dentistry April 1999;21:109-113.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

This study brings up several great points. If you ever have free time and want to review this area in depth, I would strongly recommend Weston Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It is available from the Price Pottinger Foundation at 800-366-3748. Dr. Price is the pioneer dentist of this century and the book was published in 1920. It has hundreds of photos around the world documenting the harm that processed foods have on primitive cultures’ teeth. Dr. Price was a prolific researcher and writer and he was the one who did the initial studies to find that root canals cause serious harm and damage. You can review my paper on root canals in my web site for more information.

The other issue that this study brings up is the issue of prophylactic fluoride use. Folks, fluoride is poison and should not be used at all by anyone. That is why your toothpaste tube tells you to spit out the toothpaste and to not swallow it and they have a poison control number on the tube. Hopefully, by the time you read this, I will have five links on my Links page to wonderful web sites that document in great exhaustive detail the dangers of fluoride. There is even one entire journal that documents this damage.

The way to prevent dental caries is through nutrition. The ONLY fluid that these children should be drinking is breast milk, and then water. Juice, soda, and cow’s milk should not be used. Restriction of all sugars is also crucial The next step would be to severely restrict grain products and provide vegetables as an alternative.