Well, if his teeth look wonderful, they probably are. Or might as well be. Not like there is any serious damage which will get severe if it is not even visible at this point.
My son didn't see a dentist until age 7, and only then because I saw a tiny little dot on a molar, which indeed, turned out to be a cavity.
If you are feeling pressured and not yet prepared, no harm in postponing the first visit by a few weeks or mths to give you time to feel ready, imo.
Dentists, like Doctors of Medicine, ime, CAN be pushy, condescending, and a bit overwhelming if you are not well informed and firm in your choices.
The one my son 1st saw, for example, poo-pooed my concerns regarding mercury in fillings and then went on to tell me doing a non-merc filling on a molar "wasn't possible anyway. It would never last."
He also got onto me about my educated choice not to use fluoride (finally saying, "well, we CAN clean his teeth with THIS, which has no fluoride, if you insist.", making his derision of my preference clear, as well as his opinion that my son's teeth would rot out of his head as a result, but oh well...
)
An altogether unpleasant visit. But as it was only to diagnose and clean, I simply endured it and then never scheduled the follow-up/filling visit.
Instead, I found a non-mercury dentist who did the filling with NO problem. And paid out of pocket. (That was 6 years ago, and as far as his subsequent check-ups have revealed, the filling is still in place, lol! Either that or it fell out and the cavity remineralized, I guess)
I still get guff about the no fluoride thing, and the non-merc thing (though we have a completely non-merc dentist nearby we can use if the one covered by our insurance refuses to do non-merc! I make that very clear. No major problems with honoring that to date
On the sealants; that first non-merc dentist we saw, the one who did that first filling, told me he was, personally, mixed about them. Said he suspected they tended to come loose over time and trap stuff underneath, which could not be brushed away due to the sealants over it, which led to decay.
Well, 3 years ago, I went ahead and let them apply sealants to my son's molars, since I was still ambivalent about them/not sure and it was covered.
This last check-up, he had 2 "squishy areas" on, you guessed it, his molars. they wanted to fill. They said it seemed the sealants had come loose and allowed stuff to get under them. GRRRR!
Also, I am not very comfortable with the whole plastics/synthetic estrogens issue surrounding sealants, ESP as they can, obviously, come loose over time, JMHO.
The x-rays bother me, too. A baseline is pretty mandatory, as well as a few more over the years, but this stuff about x-rays every 6 mths, uh-huh. Unless there is some indication that something may be wrong which requires an(other!) x-ray, NO. If nothing else, be vigilant about having your child's x-rays forwarded from one dentist to the next if you change. Avoid more exposures (since they are cumulative) whenever possible.
I am very interested in alternatives to conventional dentistry. Not only non-fluoride/non-merc, but antiseptic, natural ingredients in toothpastes and proper nutrition and the resultant proper PH balance of the saliva and its role in remineralization, etc.
Going to post on homemade toothpaste recipes here and see what others know/have tried. (since I am one, looking for an ideal formulation and two, tired of having to pay $5 or more a tube for natural/fluoride free commercial preparations made from ingredients I could buy in bulk and mix myself for a fraction of the cost!
ANYWAY, give yourself enough time to do your research and feel comfortable with whatever you decide is best. Your child's teeth will not rot away to nothing in the meantime
One of the best gifts we can give our children, imo, is better health, including dental, than we had/have, and the first step is getting informed and making sure every decision is an educated one. Don't let yourself get rushed or intimidated into bypassing it. If nothing else, my kids will not end up with a head full of leeching mercury fillings, like their dad and I have.
Lilith, mom to John, 13
Sage, 5
My birth at Special Beginnings was the most positive experience of my life. I had some complications- water breaking 3 days before ctx with light meconium, but it was treated with...
My mom gave me this for Christmas and I absolutely love it. Gorgeous illustrations and very sweet ideas inside. Plus it's just structured enough so that I can be creative about what I include...
This is the prettiest carrier, and fit my shoulders and figure (at 5'6") much better than the Ergo. I got it when my daughter was about nine months, two years ago - it doesn't appear to have...
This potty is great - excellent value & performance! (plus it's cute!) My 9 month old DS took to it right away. He is a big boy (30 in. tall - feet not quite on floor - & 27 lbs.) and this is...
This book feels good in your hands. The paper is heavyweight, and the illustrations flow perfectly.
) and so it seems like I went in maybe 3 or 4 times in my childhood and got a ton of fillings put into the pretty advanced cavities I had.
