A Breastfeeding is important not only for the baby's general health. It is also a way of preventing orthodontic problems in the future. This is what research carried out by Luiz Fabiano Bortolo at the Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba (FOP) pointed out. The study found that, of 123 children who were exclusively breastfed for more than six months, 74 did not have problems with malocclusion, that is, crossbite, open bite or overbite.

The assessment, guided by professor Marcelo de Castro Meneghim, was carried out on 332 children aged 6 to 7 from municipal and private schools, in Adamantina, State of São Paulo. The length of time children were breastfed did not represent significant results. But it was in the table that listed the type, whether exclusive or not, that the research found significance. “Children who breastfed, but also drank a bottle or ate another type of food, presented orthodontic problems”, explains Bortolo.

According to the orthodontist, the study reaffirms the importance of exclusive breastfeeding until the child's sixth month. It plays a fundamental role in the development of facial structures, such as bones, muscles and dental occlusion. The milking movement when breastfeeding stimulates the muscles, prevents dental malocclusion and stimulates nasal breathing.