Under the patronage of the Dean of the College of Dentistry, Professor Dr. Raghad Abdul-Razzaq Mohammed, and as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week activities, the College of Dentistry at the University of Baghdad organized a seminar entitled: “The Impact of Exclusive Breastfeeding on Infant Growth and Tooth Eruption Timing in Relation to Genetic Variations of BMP4 and HMGA2 Genes, Maternal Oral Health, and the Interrelationship Between Them.” The seminar was presented by PhD student Shaimaa Thabit Saleh, and was attended by a number of postgraduate students and faculty members.
The seminar aimed to clarify the impact and correlation between feeding patterns and infant growth, facial development, and genetic variations, as well as the influence of maternal conditions (oral health and the relationship between them) on infant development.
The seminar addressed the importance of maternal and infant health, given its direct impact on the infant’s normal growth.
The seminar concluded that breastfeeding has a positive effect on infant growth and early tooth eruption.
Formula feeding may have a negative impact on both growth and tooth eruption; this may be related to the genetic or epigenetic effects of the formula.
Furthermore, infant growth is affected by maternal dental caries throughout their feeding pattern. This, in turn, impacts infant growth and tooth eruption.
