23-mo's teeth have something stuck to them...

[momileigh]

I've been very careful to brush dd's teeth every day, or at least very close to every day, since they started coming in. She is pretty good about opening up and letting me scrub them a little bit, which I do with a flouride-free gel toothpaste for kids.

Now for about 3 weeks, she's had some dark substance stuck to the inside of her four front bottom teeth that I can't remove for the life of me. I really don't know what it is, but it looks dark brown, or black. I've tried flossing and brushing vigorously, to the point of her crying for me to stop.

I finally made an appointment for her to go in to the dentist on Monday, and I have NO IDEA how that's going to work, but I can't just let it stay there! I know that usually kids don't go to the dentist until they are three so I feel kinda weird hauling her in before she's even 2.

Anyone have any opinions, ideas, advice?

[DoctorMark]

See a pediatric dentist

At that age the situation is usually best handled by a specialist.

[momileigh]

Thanks Dr. Mark. I took her in to see my dentist on Monday. She isn't specifically a pediatric dentist but she works with a lot of children. Dd was so good! All morning we practiced, "What do you do when you see a dentist?" and she would open her mouth wide... well, it must have helped, because she had no trouble holding her mouth open.

The dentist said that her teeth were stained as bad as a smoker's! (Only on the back of those four teeth.) They quizzed me on what could have caused it (tea? grape juice? chocolate? no, hardly ever, and only in milk) and we really didn't come up with an answer.

Dd let the dentist scrape the staining off her teeth and now we're brushing twice daily instead of once and flossing once a day as well. And I'll be bringing her in to the dentist regularly. I've never had a cavity or anything so it is a little scary to think she might be predisposed to dental problems.

[DoctorMark]

Sounds like you have a very well behaved child. That is great. I have two patients who get this unexplained annoying type of stain. I once read it is often found in the asian population and blamed on tea. But I have not found that to be the case with these two patients. I suspect micro pits on the surface of the enamel.