To those who have done nothing about their child's cavities

[kiminsac]

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[bleurae]

I was on antibiotics twice during pregnancy due to some very inforseeable infections.
My son got early childhood caries EEC (cavities) very young on the top fron four as well. I would not do the GA and waited it out but his were very aggressive. By 11 months they were breaking off at the gumline and the needles left were cutting my breasts up pretty bad. But still I battled on. Then a few months later he started having some real pain with his teeth and I felt I needed to get them pulled. I found a wonderful dentist who did not do GA. He was great with Bliss, although it was still an awful thing. He did the entire thing, all four front top, in a matter of minutes after the novacaine. Bliss healed well and adapted fine. He WAS a bit traumatized for a time which killed me but I still thought it was better than risking GA.
Now he is 2.9 and another tooth is decaying and there are small holes in three others. I have just got another appointment with the dentist but I am really feeling at my wits end. We brush, we do flouride toothpaste even. I am not willing to night wean or cut out all breads which have both been suggested. The past few weeks when we brush he says ow when we brush the bad tooth. I would happily let it go if he had no pain but I worry about it and I worry it could get really bad and get infected. Tooth infections are no laughing matter.

So I don't know if any of that helps but I am here to say I hear ya and support ya.

[magnoliablue]

I can give you both sides of the debate.
My dd had serious decay starting at 3. The dentist we went to at the time felt since she was not in any pain, we could take a wait and see attitude. We treated her with topical flouride nightly, cut out sweets(which was not hard too do since we had never had too many in the home anyway)
She was fine. Her teeth never decayed any worse, and her babyteeth all came out on schedule, and her adult teeth were fine.
So..
My youngest son,5, started showing the same signs of decay as my dd. I figured we would take the same approach. We practice very good oral hygiene, he flosses, rinses and brushes after every meal religiously.
In spite of this, he developed severe decay, and recently began getting headaches and a toothache on one side of his mouth.
He went today for his checkup, and the side where he was getting headaches and pain is severely decayed and now has to be extracted. Fortunately, I have a very gentle dentist who also does not believe in general anesthesia for surgery, and will allow me to remain with him.
He said if we had allowed it to go, he could quite possible have gotten a bacterial infection in his sinus cavity. This could be very serious, even fatal.
Knowing this now, I know we were just fortunate with our dd.
I urge you to search high and low for a supportive dentist, it took me a very long time to find the one I have now. But I also urge you to not take the sit back and relax approach. I do not know what I would have done if my son had gotten sick from this. As of now, just knowing it could have happened, I have a lot of guilt.
Good luck to you.

[bleurae]

Karen, where are you located? Good dentists are hard to find and the original one I loved can no longer see me, even paying cash, due to insurance problems. They won't let him see us even paying cash because we have other coverage. It is insane being turned down for cash.

[magnoliablue]

I am in Southern NJ, bleu.
I actually found this dentist through a post on here in Finding Your Tribe.
Definitely post in your section. I am so happy with this dentist, I travel 45 minutes to get there. You'd never know it to look at him, either. he's at least in his 60's, a grandfatherly type..he admits that most of his patients are into "alternative health and lifestyles" and so he has chosen to model his practice based on their desires. If you knew some of the horror stories from other dentists we have seen, he is a breath of fresh air.

[mommytolittlelilly]

Kind of off-topic: Bleurae, you mentioned you had antibiotics during your pregnancy. Do you think it's possible that getting penicillin during labor (which I did) could account for ECC?

kiminsac, I am facing the same dilemma myself with my little 2 YO girl's teeth. We are in the process of looking for a second opinion, but ultimately I do think something needs to be done in terms of her teeth as one has actually broken off. Reading Magnoliablue's post makes me think that even more. I definitely don't want to do GA, and I am scared about the sedative idea. So I'm scared and frustrated, esp. because I've been really anal about brushing her teeth before bedtime and in the morning ever since they appeared. We nurse on demand, incl through the night, and I really don't want to believe that's contributing to our problems. I don't think it is, but still I find doubt creeping into my mind about it.

[bleurae]

From what i have read it is the antibiotice during the developmental stages of the teeth which is the problem, especially first and third trimesters, which of course, is when I had to take them. I have read nothing about labor but would think not because there is not so much of the formation going on, and it is one does as opposed to a week or two, but I am by no means sure.

[kiminsac]

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[bleurae]

Hi Kim,

ARGH it sucks. We finally got into a dentist for a referrel this week and all she did was look into his mouth. I held it open, he was in my lap. literally she leaned down and looked for 5 seconds and he freaked for 10 minutes after. We were able to leave right after yet still, holding him in the car, nursing him everything, he freaked. So I am trying to figure out what to do with this next part, but the tooth is hurting him.

Anyhoe hopefully some others will come and give more advice.


~Bleu

[kiminsac]

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[bleurae]

The dentist was just a random to get a referral to a pediodentist. Our regular dentist switched insurance so I had to pt in for a change to get the referral, so cut to three weeks later and I finally get the new paperwork but they screwed up the office he was assigned to. They then said they could change it but it wouldn't be in effect until the first of next month, so I just called the dentist they had assigned us, who doesn't even do little kids and explained and she said ok, bring him in tomorrow and I will look then refer. We went yesterday. She simply looked in his mouth to make sure he had the problem I said he did. So now I am waiting to hear back who the pediodontist they assign me will be and what they say. If it is a nightmare again I will have to keep looking, but I don't have uch time if he wants to have any hope of keeping the tooth.

(crying) It breaks my heart!

[Mama Coltrane]

My DS, 25 months has decay too. We have been to the dentist twice and will go every two months for checkup and topical fluoride. At first, the dentist advised GA and caps or extraction. I talked to people and researched a bit and decided against that for now. Instead, we are going to follow the progression of the decay. The teeth will probably not make it until they fall out naturally, but if we can hold off for a year, even 6 more months I woud be happier. I would like to avoid GA and do in house sedation and extraction if necesarry later on.
Ummm... it was the opinion of two different pediatricians I talked to that sometimes pediatric dentists go for overkill. Yes, an infection or abscess can occur, and emergency GA and extraction would be in the cards. That is one of the worse scenarios. What is more likely is that the teeth decay, they don't cause pain , just look horrible. My DS's teeth look bad, but I cannot get them worked on for aesthetic reasons only. If they get worse or the dentist feels it has gone too far, we will move onto surgery. So... for now we are brushing alot ( with fluoride at least once a day ) We are using Xylitol twice a day and we are going to the dentist every two months. That is about the best we can do for now. Oh, and we limit sugary foods and/or carbs.
Keep you posted. I dont know what will come of all of this, but it is comforting to know there are others in the same boat!!
Oh, when I talked to the dentist about his teeth now, he said that they wouldn't interfere with speech development and shouldn't mess up the adult teeth or spacing ( only if the decay gets into the adult teeth ). I got him to finally admit that to get them fixed now would be for aesthetic reasons and his self-esteem.. Him having funny looking teeth now is better than GA in my opinion. When he is 3 or 4, I don;t know. Maybe the look of his teeth will bother him then and we iwll make other choices.
- Kerri

[bleurae]

Kerri,
I am confused. "Xylitol is a natural low glycemic sugar manufactured from birch trees and other natural xylan-rich sources." I quoted it because I took that from the back of my bag of it I got at whole foods this week to use as an alternative to refined sugar. So what is it you use it for? Is there some use for teeth I am not aware of?

Thanks,

Bleu

[kiminsac]

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[bleurae]

WOW, That is interesting. We use Crest Citrus which has it in it I recently noticed, but I use it because it is a flavor he doesn't mind and I like it because I can eat after it instead of like minty ones. I will have to get some of the gum ASAP. I will also use the packets as a sweetener for sure now!!

[Mama Coltrane]

Yes, I use the Spry gel with my DS and will use it with the new babe after 6 months. My dentist recommended the gum, but I think DS needs to be a little older.
It doesnt make alot of sense that it is a sugar and somehow helpf fight decay, but it seems to be working.
- Kerri

[bleurae]

I got some of the gum yesterday. It is yummy! Thanks!

[loomweaver]

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[bleurae]

Anyone see the advertisement in the email notice for weekly events from Mothering?



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Who knew?
The Center for Disease Control says that dental caries (cavities) are considered THE most prevalent infectious disease in American children. The great news is that dental caries are completely preventable, and using Spiffies Baby Tooth Wipes with xylitol after every feeding is part of a good preventative oral hygiene program. Visit Spiffies at www.drraysproducts.com


I am frustrated that they say it is "completely preventable". It isn't. My sons teeth came through his gums with erosion already on them.

[bubbysmom]

my 2.5 yr old needs two crowns and a bunch of fillings from munching on rocks and previous months in daycare (she gave him a bottle of ebm at naptime for almost a year straight). we were told in April that he'd need to be GA or IV but i've been seeking a second opinion and praying that his teeth not get worse.
can they be pulled? can they put in spacers? i haven't a clue. we put off getting a second opinion for him when i was recently diagnosed with breast cancer but now it's time we did something about his teeth.