Questions about dd's first dental visit last week

[~Megan~]

so dd (4) had her first visit with the dentist this last week. The assistant gave me some flack about no x-rays (said something like its the same radiation as spending 5 minutes in the sun) and not doing flouride (said its only poisonious if ingested even though its in our city water).

They said her teeth are very tight which makes them harder to clean and the shape of some of her molars make her more prone to cavities since its harder to clean them. They suggested for her to come back to get "scraped" and to do a "sealant" on them.

What are your feelings about these procedures as I didn't get much info. I left my younger ds with friends and was worried about him so I didn't stay long to ask a lot of questions, plus I'll get the real story here anyway.

So what do you think about this scraping and sealing business?

[JBaxter]

I worked as a hygienist for 17yrs and never worked in a ped practice, In the general dental practices I worked in we saw LOTS of kids. 4yr olds are hard to get xrays on most practices the child was more like 5 unless there was a tooth in question. Then it was every 18 -24months ( for my kids anyway) all depending on the home care.
Sealants on a 4 yr old are TOUGH. I think I only ever seen them done a few times in order for the sealant to stick the tooth is etched with a mild acid gel then dried 100% dry any moisture will cause it to fail ( come off) the the sealant liquid is placed and a light is used to cure it. You must isolate the tooth with cotton rolls on either side. Its a challenge for a 7yr old to get perm molors sealed ( which I do HIGHLY recommend) but can be doubley so for a 4 yr old with a tiny mouth.

I dont know what the scraping would be if they cleaned your childs teeth they should have removed any tartar that was there and "usually" that isnt much if any in a 4 yr old.

If your childs teeth are tight then did they show you how to floss them? It isnt hard what I do is have your kiddo lay their head in your lap and open wide. YOu can use regular floss or Johnson&Johnson or Reach makes really cute animal handled flossers. Floss also comes in flavors!!

Hope my opinion helps

[~Megan~]

so any opinions of the sealants and the safety of them.

[Plummeting]

I wouldn't do the sealants. Different dentists will use different materials, but most of them contain fluoride. Furthermore, they're made of composite materials, almost all of which contain BPA and bis-GMA, which act as an estrogen in the body. Plus, they contain metals like aluminum, which aren't great to have in the body. Just eat a healthy diet and keep her teeth clean. Chew xylitol gum. She's already 4, so I don't see any reason to believe those teeth are going to develop cavities before she loses them, if they've been fine for this long.

This page has a little info on sealants:
http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/PDHA/health/kids1.htm

[~Megan~]

Thanks for the info.