Alternative to a papoose board for a 17mo?

[lava mama]

Hello all,

DS is 17 months old and his enamel has chipped away on one decayed tooth. I took him to a ped. dentist yesterday and he said the only thing to do would be to put a composite filling on that tooth while DS was strapped on the papoose board.

My heart sunk when I heard that, and I immediately decided that I absolutely do NOT want DS restrained so violently. I'm in the process of contacting other dentists in my area who will work on a child so young. I'm going to be meeting with our Naturopath for any recommendations of dentists in the area, and also to discuss preventative measures we can take for the rest of DS's teeth.

So, my question is this: What are the alternatives to the papoose board for a child so young? Should we wait it out to see if his decay progresses? Is IV sedation safe? Nitrus oxide? I don't know anything about this and neither does anyone around me. Argh!

Thank you all for you help!.

[bizziedog]

Been there, done that!

I've already posted a few times about our experiences! DD had decay on her 4 front teeth, starting at 12 mos. At 2 years we took her to a family friend that is a dentist and he said that we could just monitor it and make sure that it doesn't look like it's bothering her. The decay was right by her gumline. There wasn't much change for a year, and when she started Montessori at 3 it really got worse over a period of a few months. With much trepidation and fright (I'd seen a Dateline years ago where children were given "silver teeth" and didn't want my daughter to look like Jaws from the James Bond movies), I made an appt. with a pediatric dentist.

Yup...she needed caps (they are white, for the record!!) and no, he didn't make me feel like a bad mother. They were very anxious that all of their patients have good experiences at the dentist and really tried to minimize pain. She was given an oral seditive (to relax her, not put her to sleep) and they were careful to weigh her and give her the correct dosage, then they did the work while she watched Nemo and had nitrous oxide. They were done in about 30 min., we went home and she slept until the afternoon, and was fine afterwards. She loves going to the dentist and wasn't scared at all. They went over all medication and its possible side effects and I felt comfortable with the entire procedure. The dentist said that if the sedative and nitrous didn't work, then she would have to be knocked out but that he ONLY did that at the hospital and we'd have to make another appointment. I was very happy to hear that and think I'd only do full sedation/IVs at a hospital.

As much as I hated the idea of sedating her, I didn't want future trips to the dentist to be scary. Since they had to drill and fit 4 caps, this could have been very scary for her! With nitrous and Nemo, she had a blast. She wasn't really sleepy at the office...just very very "mello." Now for her checkups, she just gets a balloon and sticker...no nitrous!!!

I can TOTALLY see why you'd want to avoid the papoose board...that is just too traumatic!

[sunnysideup]

My youngest daughter had some surface decay on 6 teeth when she was just over 2yo. I found a pediatric dentist who would work on her in two visits. The dentist and I sat in chairs facing each other, with our knees touching, with dd sitting on my lap laying back, with her head in the dentist's lap. The dentist had a very calm and patient attitude, and I am sure that helped. Each visit was about 15 minutes, and my daughter was calm and happy the whole time. She loves the dentist!

I am not sure if that would work for a child as young as 17 months, but I guess I'd try calling pediatric dentists to see if one would be willing to try it. Maybe the dental work can be put off for a few months?