Hi. My post is going to be long, so thanks in advance for reading it 
My exclusively bf dd didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 months old. When she was about 16 months old, we noticed a circle on one of her top front teeth. The ped said it might have been caused by a recent fever, so we didn't do anything. Two months later, the tooth cracked. We took dd to a pediatric dentist, who diagnosed her with multiple cavities, and blamed me outright for bf past a year. We went to another ped dentist for a second opinion. She wasn't so anti-bf, but she concurred about the cavities, and recommended 7 crowns. Since she was the second dentist to say this was necessary and since we were still new parents, we went along with it. I still regret bringing my baby to a Children's Hospital and having her put under GA to work on her teeth. The dentist told us afterwards that dd had very weak enamel. At a later visit, I showed her a new worn spot on a molar, and she told me that we would watch it.
I did watch it, and it stayed just a worn spot for 2 years and 5 months before turning brown (cavity). We had become hyper vigilant about dental hygiene. We had another baby, and were super careful with his teeth as well. If either child ever falls asleep without first brushing, we either wake them up or brush their teeth in their sleep (makes us sound like horrible people). I haven't had a cavity since I was a teenager, so I don't think they "caught" this from me. I was on antibiotics at one point with each of them while I was pg.
Fast forward to the present. I took them in to see the ped dentist because dd had a cavity on one of her canines that progressed to the point that the tooth broke. DS has a spot on one of his front teeth as well. The ped dentist took one look at both of them, and said that their enamel was horribly weak. She questioned me thoroughly about their eating habits and how we care for their teeth. She said that she couldn't think of any reason for the problem and that it sounded like I was doing everything right. The worn spots, according to her, are on the smooth surfaces of their teeth, not the chewing surfaces, so it isn't something they are eating. She wants to put 7 more crowns on dd (who is now 5 1/2) and 9 on ds (who is 3 1/2)! She wants to do it under GA, and mentioned that some are for prevention! I asked if any of them could be filled, and she said no.
We totally disagree with this, so we took them to my dentist (a general, family dentist) for a second opinion today. He said that dd would need a crown on the cracked tooth and a few fillings on some others. He said that ds didn't need any crowns, maybe some fillings, and he would keep an eye on him. He said to bring them in every 3 months until things look under control.
He kind of bugged me because he made it seem like it didn't matter what was causing the problem, and that it was probably our lack of good dental care. On a side note, his eyes almost bugged out of his head when he asked where dd went to school, and I said I homeschool her.
Anyway, we are much more inclined to go with his recommendations because we do not want GA, millions of crowns, etc. How can their ideas be so different, though? This dentist said that the other one just wants to crown everything because then it won't matter how well we care for their teeth. That doesn't seem to fit with her telling me that I'm doing a good job with their care. Maybe she thinks their enamel problems are so awful that no amount of good care will help?
Any opinions/experiences would be greatly appreciated. I am currently pg with #3 and now worried about her teeth as well. I just read several articles on this website about cavities, and we just don't seem to fit the criteria for the problems we have/are facing! We are not poor, minority, I have no cavities, the kids got their teeth late (ds was 11 months), we have a very balanced diet, etc. My big fear is that it had to do with me taking antibiotics during pg because I've already done that this time around again.
Thanks,
lamamax3
dd 5yrs
ds 3yrs
edd 6/7
My exclusively bf dd didn't get her first tooth until she was 10 months old. When she was about 16 months old, we noticed a circle on one of her top front teeth. The ped said it might have been caused by a recent fever, so we didn't do anything. Two months later, the tooth cracked. We took dd to a pediatric dentist, who diagnosed her with multiple cavities, and blamed me outright for bf past a year. We went to another ped dentist for a second opinion. She wasn't so anti-bf, but she concurred about the cavities, and recommended 7 crowns. Since she was the second dentist to say this was necessary and since we were still new parents, we went along with it. I still regret bringing my baby to a Children's Hospital and having her put under GA to work on her teeth. The dentist told us afterwards that dd had very weak enamel. At a later visit, I showed her a new worn spot on a molar, and she told me that we would watch it.
I did watch it, and it stayed just a worn spot for 2 years and 5 months before turning brown (cavity). We had become hyper vigilant about dental hygiene. We had another baby, and were super careful with his teeth as well. If either child ever falls asleep without first brushing, we either wake them up or brush their teeth in their sleep (makes us sound like horrible people). I haven't had a cavity since I was a teenager, so I don't think they "caught" this from me. I was on antibiotics at one point with each of them while I was pg.
Fast forward to the present. I took them in to see the ped dentist because dd had a cavity on one of her canines that progressed to the point that the tooth broke. DS has a spot on one of his front teeth as well. The ped dentist took one look at both of them, and said that their enamel was horribly weak. She questioned me thoroughly about their eating habits and how we care for their teeth. She said that she couldn't think of any reason for the problem and that it sounded like I was doing everything right. The worn spots, according to her, are on the smooth surfaces of their teeth, not the chewing surfaces, so it isn't something they are eating. She wants to put 7 more crowns on dd (who is now 5 1/2) and 9 on ds (who is 3 1/2)! She wants to do it under GA, and mentioned that some are for prevention! I asked if any of them could be filled, and she said no.
We totally disagree with this, so we took them to my dentist (a general, family dentist) for a second opinion today. He said that dd would need a crown on the cracked tooth and a few fillings on some others. He said that ds didn't need any crowns, maybe some fillings, and he would keep an eye on him. He said to bring them in every 3 months until things look under control.
He kind of bugged me because he made it seem like it didn't matter what was causing the problem, and that it was probably our lack of good dental care. On a side note, his eyes almost bugged out of his head when he asked where dd went to school, and I said I homeschool her.
Anyway, we are much more inclined to go with his recommendations because we do not want GA, millions of crowns, etc. How can their ideas be so different, though? This dentist said that the other one just wants to crown everything because then it won't matter how well we care for their teeth. That doesn't seem to fit with her telling me that I'm doing a good job with their care. Maybe she thinks their enamel problems are so awful that no amount of good care will help?
Any opinions/experiences would be greatly appreciated. I am currently pg with #3 and now worried about her teeth as well. I just read several articles on this website about cavities, and we just don't seem to fit the criteria for the problems we have/are facing! We are not poor, minority, I have no cavities, the kids got their teeth late (ds was 11 months), we have a very balanced diet, etc. My big fear is that it had to do with me taking antibiotics during pg because I've already done that this time around again.
Thanks,
lamamax3
dd 5yrs
ds 3yrs
edd 6/7
Yikes mama, what a rollercoaster!
