8 cavities in toddler

[dara00]

my 2.5 year old has 8 cavities, one in each molar. the dentist is recommending general for a better exam (he screamed the whole time and it wasn't the best exam), xrays, and fillings. Are there alternatives to fillings? I know the alt. to the GA would be in the office under sedation and strapped down which could be traumatizing for future dental visits. Also it would be 4 different times of that! thanks.

[baby-makes-3]

At that age, we did 8 of our DD's 10 cavities with laser dentistry. It's pretty quick and there's no need for numbing since there's no drilling -- it's all done with a laser.

Of course, if your DC is already to the point where he's screaming the whole time, it might be hard to do even that. Sometimes, just letting a little time go by before trying a new appointment might make a difference.

[sheriwx]

My barely 4 year old has many many cavities, and the family dentist said our only option was to have the hospital put him under, and then pay a dentist to come do the work. This would cost us about $7500, and there's no way we can get that kind of money, so I don't know what to do. This was almost a year ago, so we were hoping we could get him old enough to be able to not be put under. I wish there were options.