dd's tooth decay is arresting & remineralization is happening! - Page 2

[misseks]

There may be someone in Whitehorse...it's worth calling around. Hugs to you.

[ex-stasis]

Ksenia, a question for you: my dd (3yo) has decay on one of her molars that may or may not need a pulpotomy (we haven't been able to get xrays yet because dd is not cooperative)... do you know if ozone therapy is a viable alternative to pulpotomy (baby root canal)? I'm not sure if there is a state of decay that is "too far gone" for ozone therapy?

[Sarahfina]

Thanks for all the info, thats wonderful. we're on vancouver island and could surely access the HealOzone treatments for dd. Can you give me an idea of their cost? we have no coverage. thanks.

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by ex-stasis

Ksenia, a question for you: my dd (3yo) has decay on one of her molars that may or may not need a pulpotomy (we haven't been able to get xrays yet because dd is not cooperative)... do you know if ozone therapy is a viable alternative to pulpotomy (baby root canal)? I'm not sure if there is a state of decay that is "too far gone" for ozone therapy?

I doubt that healozone is a viable alternative to a pulpotomy . Sorry you're dealing with that situation. IMO, there's a point where conventional treatment is necessary to prevent serious health consequences . OTOH, healozone may be helpful for the other teeth that are at risk. If there's rampant caries, you have to get the bacteria under control ASAP.

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by Sarahfina

we're on vancouver island and could surely access the HealOzone treatments for dd. Can you give me an idea of their cost? we have no coverage.

I didn't find it terribly expensive, but I recommend contacting practitioners directly for an indication of price. HealOzone would not be covered by most dental plans as far as I know.

[flowmom]

to encourage newbies

[sunshinestarr]

This is amazing to read, as I JUST found holes in the front of my ds's teeth - MAJOR freak out there. I still don't know what to do. I don't know if Healzone is going to work for us, as we're not living in North America, but I'm willing to do whatever at this point.. I just can't stand that he's in pain (seemingly not all the time) and he's acting out like crazy! So thanks for that comprehensive list, Ksenia, I'm going to try and do everything that I can on there for him.

[akgreen]

hey i havent read all of your thread but im pooped for the day, although i have heard that there is an all natural dentist down in Homer if your interested email me and i'll look him up for you
Ludie
[e-mail]

[flowmom]

Another update. We saw our dental practice on Thursday. I was quite worried because some of her teeth that previously had intact enamel were starting to have dark spots and I feared that she was developing new cavities in them. Much to my immense relief, though, it turns out that it was just staining, totally superficial . Dd's decay has now been arrested for 8 weeks, and the decayed teeth are basically stable (some are getting a tiny bit better and some are getting a tiny bit worse). We got another HealOzone treatment for good measure (that's the fourth session). The longer we can delay conventional treatment, the more time dd's nervous system has to mature so that she can cope better with GA. It also buys me time to come to terms with the whole thing and make my peace with this. If/when we have to do the drill and fill thing, or get an extraction, I will know I've done my best to keep her teeth intact (one of dd's teeth is quite vulnerable -- most of the enamel on the front has chipped off, and the tooth is tiny to begin with).

:

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by Ksenia

Maybe there are other ways of killing the lactobacilli ? It's unfortunate that many people have dental plans that subsidize invasive and expensive dentistry (GA, drilling, etc.) while having to pay out-of-pocket for less invasive procedures :.

My 15 month old eats tons of yogurt, kefir, raw sauerkraut, sourdough bread... all things with lactobacilli. These are basically all she wants to eat. All this time I thought I was giving her good food, but now I am not sure. I cant get her to rinse her mouth out. What do I do?

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

My 15 month old eats tons of yogurt, kefir, raw sauerkraut, sourdough bread... all things with lactobacilli. These are basically all she wants to eat. All this time I thought I was giving her good food, but now I am not sure. I cant get her to rinse her mouth out. What do I do?

That sounds like great stuff . I would give her a drink of water -- she doesn't have to spit. If she won't do that, then sweeten it a bit with granular xylitol. Even better, do a brief brushing or wiping with a cloth using Spry Infant Tooth Gel.

[flowmom]

We've had a set-back .

[Koalamom]

I am night breastfeeding my 17 month yr old, and I don't want to have to night wean. We do nurse a lot less at night, but once or twice through the night. I can across this article:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html

Hearing your story makes me uncertain what to do. I love nursing my baby and don't want to stop.

I am sorry that you are going through this. It sounds so tough. Could it be that while camping, your diets weren't as strict? I so hope that my daughter doesn't get cavities; I had them bad as a child. I bet your are probably sick of trying new things, but here are so other suggestions:
Lots of greens (raw and cooked)
high vitamin C foods especially camu camu
Meat only a few times a week, and preferably liver.
(I know you use xylitol but I wouldn't recommend it, sorry)
Herbal infusions (this has been the greatest in my daughters teething. No more crying about it as long as she gets a cup every day)
Eliminate allergies
All the other stuff you are doing is great too, and I wont rewrite all that.

Wouldn't life be good if we didn't have to worry about teeth and eating?.

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

I am night breastfeeding my 17 month yr old, and I don't want to have to night wean. We do nurse a lot less at night, but once or twice through the night.

I would not recommend nightweaning if you are not dealing with ECC. If your baby is not nursing frequently at night, you are less at risk.

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

I can across this article:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html

I think that you have to read articles of that nature with a critical eye. It has not mentioned any of the studies that show a strong link between nightnursing and ECC. Each study is done differently of course. And no one has done a good version of the study that we need -- nightnursing toddlers in a western industrialized country (because we are a tiny minority). The article states:

Per Brian Palmer, "Human milk alone does not cause dental caries. Infants exclusively breastfed are not immune to decay due to other factors that impact the infant's risk for tooth decay. Decay causing bacteria (streptococcus mutans) is transmitted to the infant by way of parents, caregivers, and others" (Palmer 2002).

I agree with the above. But IMO once a toddler has ECC, the role of very frequent nightnursing should be looked at and evaluated in the context of the child's overall health and needs. In our case, I decided that the emotional and health costs of nightweaning were acceptable if we could prevent or delay having to do dental surgery under GA.

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

Could it be that while camping, your diets weren't as strict?

It's hard to say. Our diet wasn't that different, and we weren't camping the whole time.

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

Lots of greens (raw and cooked)
high vitamin C foods especially camu camu
Meat only a few times a week, and preferably liver.
(I know you use xylitol but I wouldn't recommend it, sorry)
Herbal infusions (this has been the greatest in my daughters teething. No more crying about it as long as she gets a cup every day)
Eliminate allergies

Dd won't eat much in the way of greens -- like most other 2 yos I know . If toddlers ate perfect diets, I doubt that ECC would be as much as an issue as it is...they seem to love those ECC-risk-factor foods. Xylitol isn't an ideal food, but IMO it is a great tool for dealing with ECC once you have it -- there's lots of research behind it. It alkalinizes the mouth (something you can do by eating lots of veggies and greens ) and supports the remineralization process.

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by Ksenia

We've had a set-back .

Well, we saw our dental practice two days ago and I felt a bit better about it. Dd definitely has new decay on her upper first molars, but it's not as serious as I initially thought. Dd is taking Floradix (iron supplement) so her decayed areas are really stained and it looks worse than it probably is. The area is demineralized, but not very sticky (sticky surfaces indicate active decay). The dental assistant hadn't checked those surfaces last time, so it's possible that the decay didn't come on as suddenly as I had feared. The Diagnodent indicated that the decay wasn't super advanced. Some of the most decayed teeth are getting slightly worse readings, but there isn't a drastic set-back. I guess it's to be expected that the teeth could gradually decline in this situation . As far as the relationship between dd's increased nightnursing during teething and this decline in her teeth, the dental assistant and I discussed that there could be other factors. For example, it's possible that her bacterial loads (including oral) increased during teething due to dd's immune system dipping or something like that (my kids do seem to almost get a bit ill when they are teething). It's hard to know. The important thing is that the dentist checked dd out and felt that her teeth were still remineralizing even though the decay isn't completely arrested. He is still recommending that we continue with the current course of action. I am so grateful to be working in partnership with this practice . They are realistic about the risks of not treating ECC, yet they are supportive of avoiding the surgery under GA that dd would need if conventionally treated. I feel that we are "walking a fine line" here, but so far we don't believe that dd has any pain or abcess -- which would require immediate treatment as far as I'm concerned. And as she gets older, the risks of GA decrease somewhat IMO.