16 yr olds front teeth, advice please

[forthebest]

Hi, my 16 yr old dd had braces which are off now and she was really not into them but she got through it, she's had some fillings in her teenage years and the dentist was pleased with her teeth straightening out and she had to get some big teeth removed a couple of years ago for space and allignment and omg that hurt cos they were strong and healthy. Please can anyone help advise me? I'm feeling real crappy about this and am not very knowledgeable about teeth and the myriad of potential problems and I should be for my kids and I really do try hard to help them care for their teeth through diet and cleaning and regular as we can get check-ups. DD has now like pitted front teeth and deteriorating, started to be noticeable recently as the dentist didn't see or say anything till last visit, its noticeable and the dentist started scraping away at them which I felt very unsure about and I discreetly asked my dd to decline the treatment till we'd researched a bit, she decided there and then to let the dentist scrape her front teeth and apply some varnish? maybe a veneer? I have just been reading about that and 6 weeks later her teeth look far worse but 'looked better' for about a week after the treatment. The community dentist here was not keen on me as I questioned the flouride treatment and some procedures and declined some stuff, we get on ok but at first she was very controlling and got smirky if dd got angry with my polite questioning and wanted to just say yes to everything dentist suggested( as did dentist) and my pleas to 'have a think' first before treatment did not go down too well.Also my dd turned 16 and decided she could do what she wants and was threatening me with getting some vax at school against my wishes but gave up on that after I showed her research online about it.

The teeth are hopefully to last a lifetime and I feel a total failure also I have had crumbling decaying teeth from early teens( I got plenty sugary crap as a kid, so much I used to be sick) and they are a mess plus gum disease now, a dentist drilled my front teeth out when I was 19 and put in some plastic crapjust total yuk, I really dont want my dc to suffer bad dental health, the effects and certain treatments for basically ruin your mouth for life imo. Dc are 16, 12, and 11 and have a couple of fillings each except ds who had a temp filling only in a first tooth not long ago,he's 11, now the dentist is saying my ds's teeth are at risk of decay and gum disease in the school check-up. How bad IS fruit-juice? Help Mama's and anyone else who knows about this, please,what can I do to help eldest dd's teeth now?she eats raw food and vegi food mostly at home but she will be doing fizzy drinks and crap somewhere, the high school is real bad for sugar in fact the kids all hit the shop each lunchtime and spend stupid money and its not on celery and carrots, these kids spend on 5 schoolday lunchtime sugar-fests on average imo over £20 p/week per child, a third approximately what I as a single mama spend on my family's weekly food bill, now that we're in a 'recession' that is and I've had to cut back a bit on extras. My 12 yr dd is putting on a considerable bit of weight for the first time cos she's going to the shop with the other kids to Gack Out. Started high school last year has put on weight since then. They get plenty food at home. I know what its like to be addicted to sugar and chocolate n stuff as I struggle with that to this day and thank my semi-vegi-diet since 15 for helping me discover some whole-foods over the years.

The dentist will likely just want to keep scraping and covering eldest dd's front teeth? * For now* Are there any successful alternative methods we could try to help the teeth like remineralization? What is recalcifying?I've only heard of these and will read tonight some more. What about homeopathy or some strict no-sugar policy and dd is prepared to do something about it too? Any suggestions will be very gratefully recieved. I am willing to implement with patience and love anything I can do/change to improve my family's dental health and general health. I'm sick of the attitude here in Scotland to junk food,sugar,alcohol etc a 'national dish' of ours is deep-fried mars-bar. I think a lot of dentists just do stuff that further damages teeth but makes it look better or something certainly in my day I was rarely out of the dentists chair, foster mother was so vigilant with my health, yet I was ill a lot as a child and have a few near dead teeth left at 41. We can't go to another dentist though it's hard to get on a list here in the first place. Thanks for reading this and for allowing my rant, stressful month:

[Amylcd]

You could try the www.zellies.com program. Many people seem to have good things to say about it. Also try MI Paste. I'm sure others here will have better advice to give you.

[illasmommy]

I'll be a Registered Dental Hygienist come June, so my advice is based on what I've been taught and what I believe to be true. It's very common for children with braces to experience some demineralization due to the very difficult nature of cleaning braces. The best way to remineralize teeth is through fluoride use. You were met by resistence upon questioning your dentist's fluroide regimen because of how frustrated dental professionals can be of fluoride skepticism. Fluoride use is one of the most/best researched public health measures of all time. It's safety and effectivness has been proven in countless studies. The use of fluoride, both through drinking water and topical application (toothpaste, mouthrinses, custom fluoride trays) will absolutely help remineralize your daughter's teeth and prevent further destruction. The pp suggestion of MI paste is a great one. MI paste is available through prescription in the states, I'm not sure of it's availability overseas. You should have your daughter brush twice daily, for 3-5 minutes with a fluoride toothpaste, floss once daily BEFORE BRUSHING, and follow each brushing with a fluoride mouthrinse. She should rinse for 1 minutes and not eat or drink, smoke, or chew gum for 30 minutes after rinsing. She should definately avoid sugary foods, but she should also avoid fruit juices, sodas, and starchy/carbohydrate snacks such as crackers, chips, popcorn, etc. It's not so much what she's eating as it is how frequently she's eating it. If she's a snacker and is constantly munching all day long, she's keeping your mouth at a lower pH which is more conducive to demineralization. Have her eat three meals a day, no snacks between, and brush at least twice a day, if not after every meal. She should have a big glass of water after eating ANYTHING. The water will help clear any remaining food from her mouth and will quicken her oral pH coming back to neutral. At school she should choose water instead of soda or juice. Definately talk to your dentist about fluoride use at home. I'm sure in her case he'd be more than willing to make you a custom tray to use with prescription strength fluoride at home. It really is the answer to remineralizing her teeth and preventing cavities. Good luck!!

[luv2bamommy2]

If you go the fluoride route make sure that it is ONLY painted on the teeth! Read the www.zellies.com site. It was written by a general/pediatric practicing dentist!!! It is very informative with lots of research into the products Dr. Ellie uses.

Also, if you are not comfortable with the dentist you have at the present time, get a second opinion. I had braces when I was younger [I'm 31 now] and my teeth straightened out fabulous but their looks left alot to be desired. I ended up getting vaneers on my front teeth.

I now use Epic toothpaste with Xylitol/no fluoride for the rest of my teeth [www.epicdental.com] and they're doing really great! Check into Xylitol, my DS now 3.6 use to have ECC but has healed from that, all his little cavities have remineralized and the one big one he had has been arrested [it has stopped growing].

MOST dentists will not recommend Xylitol because it will put them out of business if everyone really started using it.

[weliveintheforest]

If she will go along with it, and it sounds like she is open to trying things, ask her to cut out all the sugar, soda and white flour. It will be a hard transition so it's important that she makes a healthy lunch so she has other things to snack on. Fruits, veggies, nuts, hard boiled eggs, and she can make things like sunflower seed pate and hummus. Another thing I would do is start making bone broth and eat/drink some every day, and make sure she gets some good bacteria from stuff like yogurt and raw sourkraut. Also, good butter.

I'm going from recommendations from WAPF

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

Originally Posted by illasmommy

I'll be a Registered Dental Hygienist come June, so my advice is based on what I've been taught and what I believe to be true. It's very common for children with braces to experience some demineralization due to the very difficult nature of cleaning braces. The best way to remineralize teeth is through fluoride use. You were met by resistence upon questioning your dentist's fluroide regimen because of how frustrated dental professionals can be of fluoride skepticism. Fluoride use is one of the most/best researched public health measures of all time. It's safety and effectivness has been proven in countless studies. The use of fluoride, both through drinking water and topical application (toothpaste, mouthrinses, custom fluoride trays) will absolutely help remineralize your daughter's teeth and prevent further destruction. The pp suggestion of MI paste is a great one. MI paste is available through prescription in the states, I'm not sure of it's availability overseas. You should have your daughter brush twice daily, for 3-5 minutes with a fluoride toothpaste, floss once daily BEFORE BRUSHING, and follow each brushing with a fluoride mouthrinse. She should rinse for 1 minutes and not eat or drink, smoke, or chew gum for 30 minutes after rinsing. She should definately avoid sugary foods, but she should also avoid fruit juices, sodas, and starchy/carbohydrate snacks such as crackers, chips, popcorn, etc. It's not so much what she's eating as it is how frequently she's eating it. If she's a snacker and is constantly munching all day long, she's keeping your mouth at a lower pH which is more conducive to demineralization. Have her eat three meals a day, no snacks between, and brush at least twice a day, if not after every meal. She should have a big glass of water after eating ANYTHING. The water will help clear any remaining food from her mouth and will quicken her oral pH coming back to neutral. At school she should choose water instead of soda or juice. Definately talk to your dentist about fluoride use at home. I'm sure in her case he'd be more than willing to make you a custom tray to use with prescription strength fluoride at home. It really is the answer to remineralizing her teeth and preventing cavities. Good luck!!

I would agree with all of this! (former chair-side here). Common problem for kids with braces. As for the scraping and filling of the front teeth...I assume you mean they did Composite fillings? Your daughter couldn't be a secret smoker, could she? This could definitely affect those fillings. Also, something I just recently learned myself... my son was an avid runnner-drank tons of GATORADE...his perfect, beautiful teeth suddenly had 8 cavities! We were always fanatics about oral hygiene---can't believe I missed that one!

[illasmommy]

Originally Posted by luv2bamommy2

MOST dentists will not recommend Xylitol because it will put them out of business if everyone really started using it.

We've actually learned a lot about the great benefits of xylitol and recommend it consistantly in our clinic. I haven't heard anything about a conspiracy against it in order to further the dental profession. As hygienists, we would LOVE everyone to do every thing they could to keep their teeth healthy. It makes our job easier.

[forthebest]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I'm going to research more on the various treatments and products I really want my dc's teeth to last them and be healthy. My dd doesn't smoke and eats mostly raw salads at home so she does eat well. I will need to put more time in with my dc about their dental health and encourage them to brush better, floss and maybe we need to apply some of the treatments suggested above. Thanks again and sorry for not getting back to my post but have been unable to get online due to lots of snow!