Despite a very healthy diet with very little processed sugars, and brushing more or less twice daily, my DD's mouth was *riddled* with decay. she ended up having to have anesthesia and has several caps in her mouth and she is only 3 1/2.
Her dad and I both have a history of cavities, DH's pretty bad (but he had a terrible lot of candy as a kid), but neither one of us had this kind of trouble ever and certainly not so young! So i was doing some research to try and figure out what the heck could've caused it, and i discovered that one of the main bacteria that causes tooth decay is Lactobacilus Acidophilus.
Ever since my daughter was an infant and had several recurring yeast/thrush issues, i had started giving her probiotics daily. once she had molars, i stopped giving her the powdered stuff in her food or drink and started giving her chewable Lactobacilus Acidophilus Bifidus. She also used to drink a good bit of Kefir and eats a lot of yogurt (not sugary, sweetened stuff - home made) both of which contain acidophilus. and we usually took the chewable acidophilus in the mid-morning after we had brushed - so that stuff often sat on her teeth for a large part of the day.
Does anyone know if these are the same thing? Could it be that in trying to keep my daughter from having tummy troubles and yeast rashes i inadvertently caused her massive tooth decay instead? it makes me so sick to my stomach to think about it, but at the same time at least if that were the answer then it would be something i could stop doing that would help her keep her teeth healthy!
of course as soon as i read that i did stop giving her the supplements, and since the surgery we've been uber-vigilant about brushing after meals, and we now floss her teeth (which we hadn't been doing before). but just wondering if anyone knows anything more about it, or has any links to more info about it?
thanks!

Hi Pixie,
I encourage you to read Dr. Weston A. Price's research. Here's a link to his and a link to his .
In a nutshell, his research showed that tooth decay is caused by nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy also has a big impact on the child's future dental health. The need for orthodontics is caused by moms not getting the nutrients they need during pregnancy. This is not mainstream knowledge unfortunately. Most people believe its just genetics. However, during pregnancy, the teeth and facial bones are last on the priority list for formation. If the growing fetus doesn't have enough nutrients, the facial bones, dental arch and teeth get the short end of the stick. This is a good thing though because its much easier to fix some teeth than it is to fix a vital organ. I recently read an article about how researchers have found out that we are basically "what our grandmother's ate". So it even goes back further than just you and I. If our grandmother's diet was lacking nutrients during pregnancy then that can even cause dental problems (or whatever) in future generations. Check out the "curing cavities with nutrition" thread here on this forum for some ideas on what you can do now to help your DD's teeth and your own teeth as well. In my family, we follow a traditional foods diet for the most part. A traditional foods diet is made up of nutrient dense whole foods. We drink raw milk from grass fed cows. We eat grass fed beef and wild game. Farm fresh eggs from pastured chickens is another source of nutrients. Cod liver oil and grass fed butter are two very important parts of the diet as well. Both are rich in Omega 3's, vitamins A and D. Most Americans are lacking in A and D. Artificial vitamins (like the kind found in fortified milk) do not absorb well enough so Americans are largely deficient in these two key vitamins that promote strong healthy teeth. I don't know anything about acidophillus being connected to tooth decay. I drink Kefir and sometimes take the capsules as well. I just had a dentist appointment today and got a glowing review. In moderation, acidophillus shouldn't be a problem. Kefir was said to be "manna from God" in biblical times so I can't imagine it causing bad tooth decay. Perhaps the chewable probiotics are different. I don't know. Hang in there and don't beat yourself up. This could have been your grandmother's or your baby's grandmother's fault afterall. :wink
Kim

In nursing school we were taught that cavities are caused by streptococcus mutans.
I do agree that nutrition makes a huge difference. Most likely the s. mutans bacteria causes cavities where there is poor nutrition.