22 mo. old with visible plaque

[scheelimama]

I noticed about a month ago that my 22 month old has some plaque (I think) on her two top front teeth. It really just looks like food, light brown streaks. She's an avid pacifier user, an addict really. Which I haven't been overly concerned about until now. I figured she'd give it up when she was ready. But she pretty much likes to have the binky in her mouth at all times that she is not eating or drinking, so the second she is done with either of those activities, back in goes the binky. I'm afraid that it may be trapping food/sugary liquid (juice/milk) and not allowing it to natural flush out of her mouth. Do you think this could be causing it? I've started brushing her teeth much more frequently, but it's not helping. I've also started deterring her from her binky except at sleepy times and brushing her teeth last thing before bed. I'm going to get signed up for dental insurance (I've been meaning to for the last few months, but just kept putting it off.) and then I'll call for an appt. once we are in the system. I'm a little nervous to take her in though, since she's so young. Anyone else btdt and have some advice?

[usmcwfe]

Hello to a fellow military wife! I first took my dd to the dentist when she was 23 months old. She had some brownish stains on her front teeth and the texture was a bit odd. The dentist said it was decay but that if we tried to do flouride varnish (a topical treatment) for alittle bit and be very careful to brush often, it should slow down the decay. We used Spiffees toothwipes, Xylitol gel as well and it DID work. BUT.. she has two big cavities on molars and needs crowns. : She's 2.5 now. I don't know much about how a pacifier impacts tooth decay, but I know with nursing the dentist will tell you to stop, but after some research you can see that its not nursing.. Its the food that's on there to begin with. So ,maybe the pacifier is keeping food on teeth longer than it should be?? I highly recommend the Spiffee's toothwipes. They are sooo easy to use and they taste good. And they are VERY safe. Good luck to you!!!!

[scheelimama]

The toothwipes sound like a great idea for right after meals or snacks when it's not real convenient to brush teeth. Do you just get them at the grocery store? I am cutting back on her binky use, but I'm not cutting her off cold turkey. You're experience sounds very similar to mine with my dd. I just signed up for the dental insurance last night and found out that if you sign up after the 20th of the month it doesn't kick in until the 1st of the second month, so we won't be able to take her until sometime in November. And we are moving in December, so I will probably just wait until after that. In the meantime, I will use your recommendations. And how do you do a flouride treatment with a young child? They aren't suppose to swallow it, right?