Dental work on baby teeth

Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth. Whenever they go to
their 6mth cleaning, and the dentist comes in, there is always some
*borderline cavities* going on in their mouths. Then I usually am
shuffled into the *contract* room, for the list of work to be done,
the amounts I will need to pay, and the appts. I have to set up.

I am the type to be intimidated at a dental (or medical) office. The
last thing I want to do is look like I would rather risk root-canals/
extractions than get these fillings done. But of course it is not as
simple as just a couple fillings. There is drilling and shots,
crying, anxiety, time, etc.

The last straw came a week ago, when my daughter lost a filling on a
baby tooth. It was one that was put in 2 years ago for a *borderline*
cavity. Well once the filling came out, there was the hole that they
drilled to put the filling stuff in. She started having pain a few
days later, while I was trying to get her in to the dental office.
Now it looks like she will be needing an extraction and is taking
antibiotics for the infection in her tooth.

I am wondering if I had just left the tooth alone in the first place,
there would have been no hole where they drilled to cause the
infection now leading to the extraction.

Plus, what the heck is a filling doing coming out 2 years later?
Eventually these baby teeth will fallout anyway, so what is too much
when it comes to treating them?

Vickie

"Vickie" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth.

I don't know the correct answer but my ds has had a ton of dental work done
to his baby teeth. I guess I never questioned the need for it?! :-/ He
had to have one pulled due to cavity and infection and then they had to put
a spacer in to keep the way clear so his adult tooth can come in correctly.
That spacer is now causing trouble because they would like to pull the one
baby tooth out (so his front permanent teeth will have more room) but can't
because the spacer is up against it. He has had 2 other baby teeth pulled
already because the adult teeth didn't push them out but came in behind
them. He is scheduled to have two more pulled because they are preventing
the permanent teeth from coming down. He also has two baby teeth with no
permanent one's underneath. Ugh, the kid has cost me a fortune and he is
only 8yo and hasn't even had braces yet. The next kid up appears to be just
as bad. He has a 2yr molar that refuses to erupt and no one knows what to
do with it. The adult molar next to it (not yet erupted) is tilted into it
and is stuck there. He has *four* baby teeth with no permanent one's
underneath them. He's only lost one baby tooth so it is yet to be
determined if his adult teeth will come in as crooked as his brothers but it
isn't looking good so far. On the positive side - he hasn't had on cavity
so thank god for that.

Ugh - that turned into a bit of a personal rant - sorry! I guess the short
answer is that yes - I think they need to get the baby teeth filled if they
have cavities (especially the molars) because they are important to have
around so that the adult teeth come in correctly. It also hurts when you
don't. I'm interested in other responses so I'm glad you asked!

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

On Jun 20, 1:21?am, Vickie wrote:
Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth. Whenever they go to
their 6mth cleaning, and the dentist comes in, there is always some
*borderline cavities* going on in their mouths. Then I usually am
shuffled into the *contract* room, for the list of work to be done,
the amounts I will need to pay, and the appts. I have to set up.

I am the type to be intimidated at a dental (or medical) office. The
last thing I want to do is look like I would rather risk root-canals/
extractions than get these fillings done. But of course it is not as
simple as just a couple fillings. There is drilling and shots,
crying, anxiety, time, etc.

The last straw came a week ago, when my daughter lost a filling on a
baby tooth. It was one that was put in 2 years ago for a *borderline*
cavity. Well once the filling came out, there was the hole that they
drilled to put the filling stuff in. She started having pain a few
days later, while I was trying to get her in to the dental office.
Now it looks like she will be needing an extraction and is taking
antibiotics for the infection in her tooth.

I am wondering if I had just left the tooth alone in the first place,
there would have been no hole where they drilled to cause the
infection now leading to the extraction.

Plus, what the heck is a filling doing coming out 2 years later?
Eventually these baby teeth will fallout anyway, so what is too much
when it comes to treating them?

Vickie

I would get a second opinion if I doubted my dentist to that degree.
My daughter has 2 of her 6-year molars that didn't calcify correctly.
There isn't any decay in those, but we have been watching them
carefully and paying extra special care to them. I have had 3 dentists
say that she would eventually need crowns on them. Those came in when
she was around 4 and she is now 7. Our family dentist has been
treating her since she was 3 years old. She just has cavity-prone
teeth, or I should say "had" since it was her baby teeth. She did have
to have a couple of the front baby teeth filled with the tooth-colored
substance that is notorious for not sticking as well as the silver
fillings, as well as a couple of her primary molars, all of which
required no anesthesia at all and no stress for her, other than
nervousness and worry. After the first couple of times of lying on me
lying in the chair, she just up and jumped into the chair and was okay
with me just being present for reassurance to where eventually I could
walk in and out of the room altogether. We had them replaced a few
times before they finally fell out altogether. Our family dentist
wanted to keep them visible as long as possible to monitor the decay
because once they start to "go", they "go" quickly. He had been
putting a tooth-colored substance over the top of them to help her
with the sensitivity that she was experiencing, but it fell off every
2 weeks since it couldn't adhere as well as it would to a tooth that
had calcified correctly. Another dentist said she had something that
would adhere better, but when my daughter came walking out a few weeks
ago, she had a tooth covered entirely with a black substance, which
they call Miracle Mix. I took her back to my family dentist to show
him what the other dentist had done and he finally said it was
probably time to take her to a pediatric dentist who specialized in it
since the tooth pulp is so close to the surface area at this age
still. We met with him today and he also said it was time for the
crown. She is really nervous about that but also a little excited at
not having to go to the dentist every month as well. Nobody knows why
that happened to 2 of the 4 6-year molars and contralaterally to boot
-- 1 is upper right and 1 is lower left. No medications, high fevers,
etc. during the period when those teeth were developing either. I did
everything the same with her that I did with my son and he doesn't
have a single cavity at all still at age 9. Didn't mean to ramble, but
when I saw a discolored spot on my daughter's teeth for the first
time, I had her seen. I obviously chose the filling because the spot
was an obvious one of decay that would obviously progress. If I
couldn't see anything straight up and the doctor was also not able to
show me these questionable spots either with pointing directly to them
or via x-ray, I would go for a second opinion.

If the problem is due to soft teeth or something that the child can't help,
then yes you need to have the work done. DD3 has had extensive work done on
her teeth already and she is only 10 yrs old. They have put fillings in baby
teeth because well they were causing pain. The dentist also put this
covering over the molars because they have deep grooves in them that are
more prone to cavities. I personally dental care is important. If you are
unsure, then see a pediatric dentist for a second opinion and see what they
say.
--
Sue

"Vickie" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth. Whenever they go to
their 6mth cleaning, and the dentist comes in, there is always some
*borderline cavities* going on in their mouths. Then I usually am
shuffled into the *contract* room, for the list of work to be done,
the amounts I will need to pay, and the appts. I have to set up.

I am the type to be intimidated at a dental (or medical) office. The
last thing I want to do is look like I would rather risk root-canals/
extractions than get these fillings done. But of course it is not as
simple as just a couple fillings. There is drilling and shots,
crying, anxiety, time, etc.

The last straw came a week ago, when my daughter lost a filling on a
baby tooth. It was one that was put in 2 years ago for a *borderline*
cavity. Well once the filling came out, there was the hole that they
drilled to put the filling stuff in. She started having pain a few
days later, while I was trying to get her in to the dental office.
Now it looks like she will be needing an extraction and is taking
antibiotics for the infection in her tooth.

I am wondering if I had just left the tooth alone in the first place,
there would have been no hole where they drilled to cause the
infection now leading to the extraction.

Plus, what the heck is a filling doing coming out 2 years later?
Eventually these baby teeth will fallout anyway, so what is too much
when it comes to treating them?

Vickie

Hi

You might want to look into getting your childs teeth sealed. Sam got
his new, permanent molars (2) sealed so the chance of developing
cavities is significantly lowered. It's painless and takes about 5-10
minutes per tooth depending on how well the kid cooperates. We will also
go back and get his two bottom front teeth sealed as soon as possible
(they're not all the way out yet).

The Problem with losing teeth early is that the adult teeth may or may
not have problems coming in later because there may or may not be enough
room for them. Also loss of teeth can cause speech and speech
development problems. That's why dentists will try everything to save
baby teeth rather than just pull them or let cavities develop.

However, if you feel your dentist is overdoing it I also suggest getting
a second opinion.

Oh, as an aside: The "silver filling" someone mentioned is called
Amalgam. You do not want them to use this as it contains mercury and
there are studies that show those fillings are harmful. The "tooth
colored" fillings usually are a kind of plastic, they don't last as long
at the amalgam fillings but as far as I know there have been no studies
to show them as harmful, which of course doesn't mean they're perfectly
safe, but they're probably safer than the amalgam fillings.
Anyway: You can ask your dentist to put in temporary fillings, which are
mostly lime/chalk(?) if I remember correctly. They're definitely the
least harmful, but they don't last very long either, plus they may be
your cheapest option.

cu
nicole

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:21:21 -0700, Vickie wrote:

Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth. Whenever they go to
their 6mth cleaning, and the dentist comes in, there is always some
*borderline cavities* going on in their mouths. Then I usually am
shuffled into the *contract* room, for the list of work to be done,
the amounts I will need to pay, and the appts. I have to set up.

Plus, what the heck is a filling doing coming out 2 years later?
Eventually these baby teeth will fallout anyway, so what is too much
when it comes to treating them?

Vickie

My parents had my four front teeth pulled out when I got cavities as a kid,
mostly because they were baby teeth and they would fall out anyway. Huge
mistake. I ended up with 5 years in braces because of it.

For years before my braces straightened my teeth out, I couldn't chew my
food properly because the back teeth became crooked after the extraction.
My mom just thought I didn't want to eat meat, so she made me swallow,
which meant I swallowed chunks of meat unchewed. I eventually found a way
to chew, but I had to chew like a cow, which my mom laughed at and tried to
get me to stop doing. That type of chewing, I believe, gave me TMJ.

Because of my dental woes, I keep on it with DS's teeth. He's got the
molars sealed and two cavities filled.

I wouldn't fill teeth that are borderline, because our dentist doesn't. He
just keeps a close eye on them.

On Jun 19, 10:21 pm, Vickie wrote:
Hey,
I wanted to see where any of you all stand on this subject. I am
constantly wavering back and forth on whether to believe a dentist
telling me my kids need work on their baby teeth. Whenever they go to
their 6mth cleaning, and the dentist comes in, there is always some
*borderline cavities* going on in their mouths. Then I usually am

Does your dentist give you nothing to remineralize the teeth before
the pre-cavities reach the point of needing filling? There are
various ways to fight pre-cavities. Here are a few examples:

Xylitol kills the strep mutans bacteria that leads to cavities. MI-
Paste provides the building blocks to remineralize the teeth. Tiny
amounts of fluoride gel applied directly to the pre-cavity can help
the tooth absorb the minerals to become stronger.

This web site explains a bit about how cavities develop.

http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/he...prevention.htm

These two California Dental Association Journals are filled with
useful articles on preventing cavities that need filling.

http://www.cdafoundation.org/journal...203/index.html

http://www.cdafoundation.org/journal...303/index.html

If your dentist has not given you assistance in stopping tooth
problems before they reach the point of being cavities that need
filling, you may want to be looking for a more up-to-date dentist.

--Betsy

On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:59:22 -0400, "Sue"
wrote:

If the problem is due to soft teeth or something that the child can't help,
then yes you need to have the work done. DD3 has had extensive work done on
her teeth already and she is only 10 yrs old. They have put fillings in baby
teeth because well they were causing pain. The dentist also put this
covering over the molars because they have deep grooves in them that are
more prone to cavities. I personally dental care is important. If you are
unsure, then see a pediatric dentist for a second opinion and see what they
say.

I had my molars sealed also, but I was told by a dentist a few years
ago that they don't do sealants anymore! I don't know why, I think
it's a good precaution.
I have been lucky so far that none of my kids have had any cavities.
One supposedly needs braces but we're still working on that. I was
told my oldest would need braces also, but once her permanent teeth
came in, our present dentist says her teeth are perfect.
Marie

On Jun 19, 10:21 pm, Vickie wrote:

I am posting here because I have read all replies, and good ones they
were. It helped me know that the majority of parents out there are
shelling out the money to have work done on baby teeth.

After writing this post, I got to thinking, dang, I must not really
trust this dentist and better look for a new one.

I want to say first that we are avid brushers in my home and
flossers. Both my 11yo and 9yo have soft enamel probs. Both had
gotten the sealant put on their teeth, and both are still having these
*borderline* cavities. I don't want my kids to suffer any pain if
there is a honest to goodness cavity that needs to be filled, so I say
fill 'em. It is just the *maybes* I am wondering about.

I wasn't informed about a spacer at all. Dentist just said she would
have a hole where the tooth had been for about a year. Now I am going
to call up and ask, so thank you.

I also have a 4 yo that is more than likely going to be having issues
also and I don't want anything unnecessary to be done.

Regardless of the dentist, I think if they propose work to be done on
these *borderline* cavity baby teeth, I will politely say, no, I think
we should just watch it for now. That would be ok, right? And then
if their next check-up proves to be that a cavity has formed there, I
will say "Fill it up!"

Vickie

On Jun 20, 8:31 am, Vickie wrote:
Regardless of the dentist, I think if they propose work to be done on
these *borderline* cavity baby teeth, I will politely say, no, I think
we should just watch it for now. That would be ok, right? And then
if their next check-up proves to be that a cavity has formed there, I
will say "Fill it up!"

Vickie

Rather than just watching it, I would discuss a plan with the dentist
on how to harden it back up before it becomes a true cavity. I would
schedule an appointment in a few months for a quick check of the spot
to see if it was hardening up properly.

--Betsy