DD's tooth decay and demineralization - help!!

[NCMomworld]

My 7 year old dd has *horrible* teeth! She has had 6 (I think it may be 7) cavities filled already. They say she has "soft enamel." Her dad does the teeth brushing and I am sure he's not doing as good a job as possible, but he does ds's teeth as well and Josiah's teeth look great. Maybe it's partly a genetic thing. My teeth are great (no cavities), dh's are rotten (at *least* 2 or 3 cavities with every dentist visit!).

Emily's adult teeth are starting to come in, and it looks like they already have decay. There are white spots on them (there were on her front baby teeth to) and yellow spots. There are even some places that look like craters - not deep, but still!

Please help me fix my baby's teeth! What are we doing wrong?! Should I take over brushing and do it more? Does she need more flouride, calcium? What about diet? I am willing to try anything!!

Some dietary info that might be pertinent. We don't do dairy because of allergies, but dh will give the children cheese pizza, ice cream and the like on occasion. He doesn't believe they have allergies (the girls have actually broken out in hives when eating dairy, ds broke out in hives when eating egg whites. These children have allergies!)

I just starting giving the two older children cod liver oil. They have been taking Flinstones, but I bought the Rainbow Light Multistars children's formula to start trying. It should be here by the end of the week. We eat meat (no where close enough to buy organic right now, but I try to get the healthiest choices I can)

I only give the children organic, whole wheat snacks and no refined sugar. I buy crackers and cookies from Whole Foods. They also eat a lot of fruits and veggies. But dh and in-laws will give them crap (Starburst, pop tarts, oatmeal cream cakes, goldfish etc.) It is limited since I am the primary caregiver. I am not sure if it's enough to make a difference in their teeth - maybe.

If you've gotten through this whole message - thank you!! I really neat help! TIA!!!!

[toraji]

Hugs to you mama. I went through dental hell with my DD too. I'm thinking that prenatal diet has a HUGE impact on the baby's teeth for proper enamel formation (my prenatal diet was insufficient). The current diet is also important to keep the body from being too acidic and causing decay.

So I don't have to repeat myself, here is a link to a discussion on diet/teeth:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=194501

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions!

ETA: if your children are obviously reacting to certain foods, these foods need to be cut out of the diet because they will hinder proper nutrient absorption. You can try raw grass-fed dairy instead, some people are really allergic to pasteurized dairy. Also, fermented dairy (yogurt, kefir) is much better digested than un-fermented. HTH

[NCMomworld]

Thanks so much! I saved the book Nourishing Traditions in my amazon cart and will get it asap. You are probably right about the prenatal diet. My dh and I were 20 year old college students who binged on Taco Bell and hot dogs (think *cheap*) while I was pregnant with my oldest. Her baby teeth seemed to come in with problems. I hate it for her! And I feel so guilty!

We live in NC and I googled but can't find anywhere to get raw dairy. Any suggestions on websites to search? My dh is such a pain about the allergies, frankly I think he has them to but won't admit it. He has a lot of the symptoms you hear moms talking about in their allergic children. I really think his sneaking the children dairy is part of his denial! I am going to talk to him about it again and tell him about the hindering nutrients. Our ds is *tiny* and dh worries about it constantly. He also has speech issues which I think are allergy related (he talks like he has a cold all of the time) and he has dark circles under his eyes.

Off to check out the Nutrition forum! Thanks so much!

[sleepies]

im a milk fan i'd keep trying it, unless you are 100% sure it is wrong. maybe they can get a bloodtest done that will tell if they indeed do have a milk problem. we had allergy tests ran, and it only required ONE SMALL TUBE of blood!!! (we were luckily free of allergies).

so, i guess that is my advice. see about getting allergy tests done...........

also, id drink floridated (mispelled?) water...

brush with a SOFT toothbrush too.

[aimeemac]

hi...i am going through the same thing w/ my almost 2 year old and 3 yr. old. it is so hard.

maybe the pasteurized dairy is the culprit. i am thinking it might be in our case.

now, we took my dd and ds off dairy b/c of sensitivity to it. ds was 2, almost 3 and not really talking much. taking him off dairy helped tremendously.

[toraji]

raw milk sources

You can try here:
http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html

or if there is a local chapter near you of the Weston A. Price Foundation, then they should be able to tell you about local sources as well.
http://www.westonaprice.org/local_ch...ocal_list.html

Good luck!

[malamamama]

Because she has had and possibly still has decay, her bacteria count is up sky high. When those cavities were filled the bacteria just jumps to the next available "host". When the bacteria (smutans) is at this level, you HAVE to brush after everything they eat or drink besides water. Once at night, even twice a day isn't enough to bring the levels down. Flouride, although controversial, will kill this bacteria too, as well as strengthn the enamel. Most important is to immediately remove the food residue from her teeth.

An adequate brushing time is 2 minutes.

Even those healthy cookies and crackers from whole foods will cause decay. It is a simple carb that turns to sugar. Healthy or not.
Non-dairy foods that will fight the bacteria, neutralize the acids....grapes, apples, nuts and nut butters, whole grains.

Ask the relatives to lay off the candy and junk stuff unless they are committed to brushing her teeth immediately afterwards!

Another thing that could help is xylitol gum in between meals when brushing is not possible. It will pull the food out of the teeth. Xylitol helps to fight the bacteria too.

Lots of water, swishing and drinking during and after and between meals.

If the decay is in the crevices of her molars, then that is a genetic trait passed down~deep grooves.
Its a LOT of work to get the bacteria count down, but as you may well understand, well worth all the effort.

In a nutshell...................

[NCMomworld]

Thank you thank you thank you Malamamama!! I will start brushing after all snacks/meals! I am going to go find some Xylitol gum as well.

I think I need to get my dh to follow some of these suggestions as well. Dental bills are killing us!

Thank you so much!!!

[mamaMAMAma]

If you can't find raw milk, have you tried goat's milk? DD#1 is sensitive to dairy, but she is fine with goat's milk. Good luck!

[malamamama]

I get our xylitol gum at www.vitaminshoppe.com
It is something like $6.99 for 100 pcs. (Our local natural store sells 12 pcs. for $2.19.) They have fruit, strawberry, peppermint and spearmint......Good luck in your battle with the bugs.

[kavamamakava]

I've been reading up on teeth a lot since my son just got his 7th of 8 cavities filled. He also had 4 teeth sealed. UGH!! I don't remember where I read it, but peppermint oil is supposed to kill s. mutans. So I bought a mouthwash that contains peppermint out. Even though he only brushes morning and night, he will rinse with the mouthwash multiple times a day.
Another essential oil that my midwife has told me will keep enamel healthy and crevices filled is birch. It tastes a bit like spearmint. I just put one drop on the toothbrush and then put the toothpaste on. If you put more than one drop, it kind of burns, but my kids tolerate a drop.
I'm trying everything! Vitamin D supplements, rinsing after taking floradix, Vitamin C, Calcium/Magnesium supplement, xylitol, you name it.