Can breast feeding cause dental caries?

Recently there have been several reports from the USA and UK which suggest that under certain rare conditions breast feeding may cause rampant (severe) dental caries. This paper provides a critical review of the available information and gives some experimental evidence suggesting that human milk possesses a greater cariogenic potential than bovine milk. It is concluded that, although it is possible for human and bovine milk to cause dental caries, the prevalence would appear to be very low and is associated with breast or bottle feeding which has continued until at least two years of age on many occasions during the day and night.