cavities and a very scared 4 year old

[singlemomofone]

Hi everyone, I am new in here and I am the single mother of a very smart 4 yo little girl. The first time she went to the dentist was a piece of cake, they only looked and made notes, the second time they tried to do a cleaning and we found out that she is a gager, after she gaged the first time there was no way she was letting the dentist put anything in her mouth. About a month ago we had to go back, b-cause the dentist had noticed that my dauhter had three cavities and they needed to be looked at more. Well, all I can say is that as soon as I said the dentist, my little one, started crying and saying that she was scared and did not want anyone in her mouth. I have no problems with brushing her teeth, I use a toddler brush and she doesn't gage or try to push me away. However, as soon as she was in the little office, she started making gaging sounds and hardly let the dentist do her job. I was able to get my little one to open long enough for the dentist to mark which teeth had cavites and how bad. The dentist is recommending Nitrice first and if that does not work, then she wants to give her a liquid that when she drinks it it will make her feel like she is drunk. This is all because my little one will not sit still and let the dentist work.

I just heard on the news of a 5 year old little girl who under went the nitrice, the yellow liquid and an iv sedation. That little girl is now in a coma with severe brain damage. After hearing about this and praying for this little girl and her family, I am scared and do not want the dentist to use anything on my little girl.

Do I not go thru with this and let her baby teeth fall out and hope that the cavities did not effect her adult teeth, and if they did deal with them when she is older and can handle the novicaine shot? or do I take the risk and get these cavities filled and hope that everything goes ok?

She is my world and I don't know what I would do if something happened to her over getting cavities filled...

Please, if anyone has any advise or insight on this, I would really apprciate it.
Thank you in advance.

Confused!!

[liamsmommy221]

I heard that news too and it breaks my heart! Last I heard they were taking her off life support I'll be interested to follow that story and see exactly what went wrong and what caused her problem

[usmcwfe]

We are faced with getting my DD's (she 2.5) teeth fixed with consious sedation and my friend just called me and told me about the poor little girl on the news. That serioulsy made my heart sink. She's in my prayers.
I would highly recommend talking to a couple dentists and researching things like this. We got a couple of opinions and even now that we've found a dentist we really like and that she likes, I'm still very cautious about it. Maybe another dentist would recommend letting things go for alittle bit or have some alternative options for you. Its a tough one though.

[singlemomofone]

Yes, I have called my daughter's pediatrician and she is going to give me some referrals to other dentist offices that directly deal with youngsters and scared, nervous kiddies. She knows some offices that like to offer alternante methods instead of sedation, unless really, really, needed...

As soon as I get the call back from her pediatrician, I am going to call the dental office and cancel her appointment and do more research...

[Pookietooth]

Keep calling around to find a better denist, and use finding your tribe too, to find a good one. My ds is very orally defensive, and highly sensitive. He had iv sedation when he was two to remove his four top front teeth, because he was afraid of the dentist's mask. Well, the next time he was due for a checkup, I took him to a different dentist. She did a "happy visit" where he just rode in the chair (in my lap) up and down, and got to know "mr squirty" and "mr thirsty" and then they said next time they would clean his teeth. Well, the next time, he was just fine with everything, and they were able to clean his teeth and do fillings without any medication, even local.

It just took more time and patience on the part of the dentist and the dental assistant. What a difference! This dentist is one of the area's top dentists, is a woman, a holistic dentist, and treats all patients with respect. She's not a pediatric denist, but is better with kids than the two pedatric dentists we saw previously. Her policy is that with anyone, kids included, all they have to do is raise their hand if they need the dentist to stop. Somehow, just that is enough for ds. He likes her, and he is able to see her without any fear. So it's possible to find a dentist who will work with your daughter to treat her teeth without using sedation. Best wishes.