Causes of Decay and Prevention - Page 2

[sandbox]

Thanks for the bump, I enjoyed reading this! Very good advice. We use Tom's too. Ds seems to like the taste, and it's natural w/ Fluoride!!! Yaaayyy!

[free_ape]

us and our daughter's tale...

This is my first post here. I have read most of the posts in this thread and thought I'd offer our story for support and ideas. I welcome any and all response.

Our daughter used to nurse thru the night. We have a family bed. Then in spring of 2001 (when she was more than 1 1/2) we noticed that her front teeth were starting to widdle away. We had been brushing, off and on, and now, looking back, we didnt even think about the urgency of the situation. Then one day when brushing she said her teeth hurt. Immediately we called a dentist, got in 3 months later (that was soonest anyone could see her) and began our process that, like others goes on.

The dentist was jerk. An older male who tsk tsk'ed our night nursing. he said that--and we--were to blame for it. He said if we were going to continue to do that then we should wake her and brush her teeth each time during the night.

She wound up needing four caps right across the upper front. She had to be out for this procedure. I can say since that operation she has had diminished concentration and coordination. yes, she is only 2 1/2 now, but leading up to that operation she was sharp as whip. Since then, erratic as all get out.

I am sad that we didnt tune into the potential problems for her re: milk in the mouth, bacteria, erosion, etc. I am nearly constantly worried that we will have more problems before she weans for good. We recently ended nighttime nursings. Since then she seems to hate me for this. I was the one that initiated it, though my wife totally went along with it. She gets to nurse at all other times, especially upon waking.

if there is any crux to this scenario, it is: is it possible to nurse during the night and not have teeth rot out? Did/do native cultures do this? I want to doubt it. But is it our modern diets that have given us such acidicly milked mothers?

Finally, and rhetorically, what were we thinking?

free ape

[InfoisPower]

We started off with those little silicone finger brushes for baby and got bitten quite a few times, but baby acceptted it. Then we went to a manual toothbrush and baby hated it. Soooo, then we went for a trip to the store and let him pick out a toothbrush with a rotating head. Baby brushes gladly by himself (with a once over by Mum or Dad) now with Orange Creme flavored non- fluoride toothpaste as we have municipal water fluoridation. So far so good.

[Smilemomma]

Welcome, free_ape! I'm so sorry you all have had such a bad experience with your baby girl.

Yes, it's possible to nightnurse and have no cavities; I have nursed all three of my children, not one has a speck of stain, even, and they (especially my oldest) literally would not sleep without a nipple in their mouth.

I think you'll find more specific answers to your questions here on the boards and in the archives. You could use your search button to pull up appropriate posts, or better yet, just browse through.

Good luck!

[bluemoon]

well hello all!
finally getting to update our situation. We are still waiting for our computer to come from the mainland...ho humm... It maybe another month.
But on to the teeth.. We saw another dentist on the 25th of this month. In the past three months since our last visit her teeth have gotten worse the decay has now spread to her back molars and the front tooth that is chipped is just getting worse. The decay on the front is now to the pulp of her tooth.

I feel sad and frustrated that our efforts have not help. We did not want to get them capped but it seems best to go this route. The only problem here is the dentist will not put her under but will use the papoose board. ANd I feel in my heart this is too traumatic. Just going to the dentist and having him look in her mouth took all of us holdng her still.

I am at a loss here on what to do. our one hope is to possibly head back east on a vacation trip and possibly see the guy who wrote the book Whole-Body Dentistry. He is a freind of our ND and happens to have his offce in New Haven CT where we have family so we might plan to visit family and see him too. It is still a long shot though. But every dentist here is scary and not very helpful.

We are still night nursing and I am still struggling with the idea of weaning. What else could we be doing? we give her flouride drops now. No dentist here ever agreed with me about using the gel. It is traumatic every day and night to brush her teeth. Its a power struggle now. I was squirting clove oil diluted with water at night into her mouth but it usually wakes her up and she wants to nurse again.

I am just so at a loss here and feeling helpless. and like a bad momma.

[Alaina]

??? Smilemomma ???

Aloha Smilemomma,


A friend recommended I right you.


So, my daughter is 17 months old. She has her front 8 incisors, and her front 4
molars, that's top and bottom. The 3 top left incisors are decaying badly. We can
feel to the touch, and visibly see the decay.

I started brushing her teeth when her first tooth cut, it was a game. Then at about 11
months she
began to HATE it!!! At the time I did not push it, there was no decay at that point.
Then at 14 months they where lightly discolored, they got worse and worse until I
realized they where turning green and jagged. Sense then I have been brushing twice
a day, they have improved. It's been about a week.

Just so you know; I eat an organic diet of Beef, Chicken, Millet, and an array of Green and root
vegetables. Sugar is not apart of our diet. She is still night nursing, 2 to 4 times a
night.

Also, at 12 months; my daughter fell on her face and chipped the inside of her front
left incisor. This one was the first to decay, and then the 2 on ether side.

I am open to your knowledge and feelings about my child's condition.


Sincerely with gratitude, mahalo and aloha,


Alaina & Grace Lanikehau

[Jillby]

I'm listening

I'm listening! that is because I am in the same boat as you! My poor baby,well he is almost 4,just went to a ped. dentist today and was told that he will need at least two crowns and about 4 or 5 other fillings.only 2 of these would be composite fillings. He does still nurse,not so much at night now.He has always hated to have to brush his teeth,although he is better with it within the last couple months. He also lost a front tooth when he turned three due to a fall.

I realize I am no help! just wanted to sympathize with you. It is very hard to deal with when they are small.(never mind the HUGE cost)

let us know what happens!


Jill

[bluemoon]

Oh I just wrote this whole thing and lost it!

I guess I'm just frustrated and sad. I feel like I have traumatized my daughter needlessly. eight months ago when I first noticed the decay I thought we at least caught it soon enough. That we ha "nipped it in the bud" The dentist we saw confirmed that and said don't worry. Brush, use flouride it will be okay. Now her teeth look awful I see the brown spots on her front teeth, I see the huge chip thats underside is turning black and I want to cry. I feel like such a bad parent. I look at old pictures and just feel so overwhelmingly bad!

We have now been to five dentists on this island and no one will do the work but two. ANd neither will use a sedative but will strap her down and no parents in the room.Our only hope is to go off island in may. I feel like something has to be done and soon. I am distraught over this almost daily becuase I see her smiling face and I see her beutiful teeth slowly rotting or maybe I should say quickly.

The trauma brushing has caused feels like enough to scar her for life and hate me. She refuses to accept help now completly refuses to do it at all. No games, no talking about sugar bugs, no saying the fun way or unfun way,all the rticks just don't work on this willful little girl. We even recently took her to the dental fair. The sugar bugs worked once she actually let me brush her teeth but since then its the same screaming at the sight of the brush.

What can I do? Is there anything to help us get back on track?Why are her teeth rotting so bad? we eat basically sugar free healthy diets. we are working with a natropath. Could breatfeeding at night be making it accelerate so fast? I didn't believe in b-feeding being a problem, but I think it is not helping here. But I don't have the stamina to wean yet. we tried it once then got sick and let go of the idea.

I am lost. Any ideas?

[chevy974]

help

15 mo old has tooth decay on her back molar and top 2 front teeth the back tooth looks like it has NO enamle on it. She is breast feed and drinks distilled water. we brush 2 times a day with a fight of course. I am really concerned any help

[bluemoon]

well I'm just bumping this up and giving a little more to our story.

My dd now has thrush. which is slowly going away. but it is tough. I have almost given up on brushing her teeth with the thrush she doesn't wnat anything near her mouth because it hurts. It is alittle better lately. But maybe this is why she has never wnted her teeth brushed mybe the thrush has been irritating her for a while or it is just plain stubbornness! Anywyas we are stilll witing to hear from the dentist in CT. I don't feel so sad about htis but I still am a little. I just really do not know what to do.We live in a very moist climate so the thrush issue is going to be hard to erradicate(sp?) And now she is even more traumatized by her mouth and any looking at it. I've tried to use it to my advantage and tell her we have to get the sugar bugs out so it will stop hurting but that didn't work.

I feel like I started out with a clean slate and I am now shredding her and giving her a mouth complex. UGHH!!!

[mamaro]

Hi Bluemoon
I haven't been here in awhile, but yours was the first I read and my heart just ached for you and your family and I was flooded with memories of what we have gone through with our own dd, who is now a bit over three.
I don't want to bore you with all our details, but just to give you an idea that I can really relate, I will share a bit about my daughter's dental experiences. At less than two years of age my daughter began seeing a ped dentist after I noticed her front two teeth essentially looked like children with what I knew to be "baby-bottle-rot." I was horrified as they seemed to disintegrate on a daily basis. I was also night nursing and could not imagine weaning. to give you the summary, in the past year and a half we had caps put on both front teeth; ultimatlely had one tooth pulled due to an abcess; innumerable fillings; one horrible looking metal cap on an upper back tooth; and are now in the final process of putting sealants on every crack and crevice to try to stem the tide of this situation. I could so relate to your pain over the loss of "her beautiful smile." I remember crying in my husband's arms, feeling so responsible for those awful looking brown teeth. Maybe it is because they are girls, but I am embarassed to admit how I worried about this. I have to tell you that the white caps she now has on both her front teeth are beautiful. You cannot see any difference. (We did lose one and have to have it replaced, but hopefully, this one is on more securely.)
Now, how did we achieve all of this? Well,we did have a semi-supportive dentist, who is very child friendly. I layed in the chair first and as gently as I could I wrapped my legs and arms around my daughter. Sometimes placing one hand over her forehead to keep her head still and my other arm wrapped around her body holding both her hands in mine. Is the effect still like a papoose? Yes, I'm sure it is, but I would much rather my loving arms were around her than her being strapped to a board. We were even able to do this when she had her tooth pulled. In less than five minutes the tooth was out. I don't think that I ever could have left her alone, I have a hard time imagining any dentist requesting that you do so, but this must be your personal decision. Perhaps, if you end up having to use a dentist there, you could just ask them to try it this way, who knows they might be pleasantly surprised at how well it works. Also, I would usually tell a story or sing to my daughter, and that would sometimes help. I'm not going to lie, there were times we both left sweating and hoarse, but we always tried to do something special afterwards and somehow we are getting through it. I know there are posts in here from smilemomma talking about the use of Roman Chamomile oil (I think) to help calm children during the procedures. I have never had success locating it, but you may want to check that out, as well.
I am happy to report that at today's dentist appointment she barely cried at all and took deep calming breaths (something we've talked about in advance) when she got scared. We all agreed it was our best appointment yet. I don't know if any of this helps, all I can say is that you do get through it, and their teeth can look beautiful again. I hope that you hear from the dentist in CT soon. I guess that would be my only word of caution is that I was always surprised at how quickly things could develop and advance in my daughter's mouth. (Not that you should take her to someone you are not comfortable with, by any means.) I'm sorry I didn't address the thrush, but I have little experience there. I'm sure there are tons of postings on this on the breastfeeding forum. My very best wishes to you and your family. Let me know if you have any questions about anything I wrote. Sorry it got so longwinded! (P.S. Yes, she still nurses!)

[bluemoon]

Thank you mamaro! I knnow we will get through it but it seems so far off. Thank you so much for sharing your story with me.

[ramlita]

Bummer! wish I could offer something other than:

Have you seen
brianpalmerdds.com ??

It's really interesting.

best of luck.

[bluemoon]

Now another hoop for us to find our way through.
there was blood on her toothbrush. cShe is teething i think could it be from that?Is it possible someone so small could have bleeding gums? We hear from the dentist in CT hopefully tomorrow and if he won't work we might go to one in new york. I know it seems funny to go so far away. but if it could be a family vaction I guess it will work. If anyone also know of any good friendly dentist on the west coast maybe seattle, let me know for back up. or is there somewhere I could check on that myself?
I will feel so much better once something gets done.

[myloveelli]

I think my 3 yr old has "milk mouth"

hi!! i have a question and really need advise... my 3 year old daughter has brown on her two top teeth(it has been there for about 12 months, and seems to be very slowly spreading). i actually think the teeth are rotting. where the brown is seems to also be um, indented for lack of a better term coming to mind. it is only those two teeth. my daughter never touched a bottle, does not drink milk at all, never did.. and nursed until she was 28 months old. i always heard breastmilk would not cause teeth to rot, but then recently i hear it can... sometimes she says her teeth hurt.. sometimes it seems that cold hurts her too...

i know i need to get her into a dentist, but i can not find a good one( i refuse to take her to any old dentist) is there anything i can do for her? she brushes her teeth about 5 times a day, she loves to brush!!

well thank you for any input! and for listening!!! hope everyone has a great day!!

Amy, momma to
Ellianna Rose march 25, 1999
And
Quinton Edward or Chloe Grace edd 4/28/02

[raddish]

This happened to my son, too. We noticed a browinsh spot that was a little indented and by the time we found a good pediatric dentist, he had decay on all of his front top teeth, and some of his molars. We have 1300$ of dental work to do. I know some mamas do a wait and see approach, but I say get into a pediatric dentist asap and stop the cavities before the worsen. Good luck.

[chevy974]

weak enamel

My baby has very weak enamel. Does any one out there know what might help stregnten the enamel and help preserve it.
She is only 15 mo old

[Smilemomma]

Alaina, please accept my apologies for not replying sooner; I hope you were able to find the information you need from this board. There are several moms here that are experiencing the same sad situation, and a lot of wisdom (some of mine but a lot of it from moms who've been there). I think we are up to 10 pages now, not a whole lot to browse topics, I think you will find a lot of what you need already posted.

Your loving concern is so evident, please post back if I can help specifically.

P. S. I don't understand the meaning of the Hawai'ian words you used, but it was certainly very beautiful! I can feel your intent through the screen, though, and I thank you. (SM bows...)

Blessings to you and to Grace.

[Smilemomma]

I sure hope you find someone soon! How awful it must be to just wait. Let us know how it goes!

And I think there was a post on here about someone who totally loved their dentist, it was in the topic so if you read through the 10 pages of this board, you should see it.

Good luck!

[Smilemomma]

Welcome to the boards, Amy! You'll find a lot of information on all the topics in your post right here on the dental boards!

It does sound like your daughter has significant dental decay. This is a disease that can have serious effects on her overall health. There are several ways to locate a dentist you might be comfortable with, there are threads on here that discuss this, lots of moms feel this way. La Leche League may be a good start, your local whole foods market, Mothering magazine has a database of simpatico healthcare providers.

I would love to say that there is something that can be done at home for this, but there really isn't. She has a problem that needs professional correction, and I can see by your post that you are a very caring and concerned momma. Congratulations to you for seeking help for your daughter.

Good luck to you both.