is it too late?

[JamieB]

Do cavities reach a point where they cannot be healed?  I am begging for opinions here please.  My DS is 3.5 and has an appointment next week to have his two front teeth pulled under ga.  They are in really bad shape.  I have done a lot of research and am now deciding between going ahead with the extraction and trying to heal the cavities.  A lot of the enamel is missing off one of his teeth but they don't cause him any pain.  Would it be possbible to heal them or at least partly heal them so they can be filled instead of extracted?  Or with so much of the enamel missing is it hopeless?

[midnightwriter]

I think it is hopeless when the reach the root, and this is pretty much when the pain is constant. But maybe this is different for the baby teeth?

When it is only occasional pain / sensitivity, it is likely that they are through the dentin layer. Xylitol claims to be able to heal it.

If the cavity is only in the enamel, then flouride is effective.

In my non-expert and hopeful opinion, if there's no pain, I'd try the xylitol route for 2-3 months. Can't hurt, right? We saw result from xylitol and fluoride, in 8 weeks or so.

Good luck! This dental stuff is so, so hard...

[JamieB]

I can't thank you enough for the reply.  It is completely going against my instincts to have these teeth pulled.  Still haven't made a decision and tomorrow is the big day.

[midnightwriter]

What did you decide?

[JamieB]

Originally Posted by midnightwriter 

What did you decide?

Thank you for asking.  They pulled his teeth.  Not what I wanted but I am just so happy this is all over now.  DS was an absolute trooper.  I really thought he would have a hard time before and after the surgery but he did great.  It was a pretty bad experience for DH and I with the dentist though.  HE wouldn't even book an appointment with us before the surgery and only made five mintues for us outside the OR.  He was also extremely rude answering our questions.  ANd he told us that his teeth were infected and the cavities were into the pulp which I find really hard to believe since DS never had any pain and they never sent us home with an abx script.  They are just trying to rush people through as fast as they can.  So now I will inform myself so this hopefully doesn't happen again.  I am having a really hard time with the fact that I let my sweet little boy down and let this happen :(