drill & fill for a 19 mos old?

[EKilgore]

in june we took dd (19 mos now) to the dentist and he confirmed the earliest stages of decay, basically some white spots on the front of her teeth. we've been brushing well and using topical flouride every other day since then. unfortunately i noticed a brown spot developing on the back of a front tooth and the dentist confirmed today that it's a cavity. i am guessing that's it one of the spots that just didn't remineralize with the flouride.

they want to do a quick (he said max 4 minutes) drill and fill on thursday with her in a papoose & a little laughing gas. i am pretty nervous about it, but i really want to remove the decay before we get to the point of needing GA for a more serious procedure.

we are trying to make some dietary and lifestyle changes to strengthen the enamel and i've gotten some great info on the stickies in the forum. i am trying to do CLO & xylitol, but i don't want to risk waiting and these things not working on an area that's obviously active decay.

so, based on everyone's educated opinion out there, is this a procedure that we should go forward with?

[Julian's Momma]

Hi!

In the same boat. Our white spots are now brown and ped dentist wants to fill four front teeth (27 months now but decay started at 12 mo!)

I've spent the last year doing the raw milk, CLO, Butter oil, xylitol, etc.

Now, about ready to throw up my hands and do the fillings before it gets any worse.

Just curious if you BF? I am still BFing and ped dentist is pro BFing but still thinks it is the primary factor.

My ped wants to use the gas along with... demerol/vistaril, versed or chloral hydrate. ARGH!!!!

Best of luck in your decision! I know it is sooo hard!

Renee

[EKilgore]

yes we bf, and our dentist thinks it's a result of "bf on demand." i know that scheduling nursing is not the answer for her right now. she is an avid night nurser and i know would have a rough time with night weaning. i do have thoughts in my mind that the nursing is a contributing factor to the decay, but am hoping that getting rid of it and improving oral hygeine routines will help.

good luck with your decision. given my situation, would you feel comfortable with the nitrous oxide alone?

[Julian's Momma]

Me too!

We are not ready to wean yet. My son nurses like a newborn!

So, I have not been diligent about wiping his teeth down after he falls asleep. I will start to do that now. I always did the brushing regimen and put Tooth Mousse on before he nursed to bed. In hindsight, I don't know why I didn't do anything after he fell asleep..... argh!

So, I am leaning towards just doing the fillings and getting it over with. I am afraid of letting it get worse and having to deal with greater, more painful, more costly interventions later.

Gonna sleep on it

Best of luck to you!
Renee

[Dandelionkid]

I hate kids needing dental work!! It was very stressful waiting for my little guy (29 months) to get general anaesthetic today. We first noticed the brown on the tops of three front teeth and brown back molar about 1 yr ago. I wasn't going to stop night nursing either but it worked out that we did for other reasons (DS started sleeping through the night with DH). I wonder if that is why his cavities today were found to be very shallow, despite the fact that he's had them for a year (the only things we did differently were to start brushing - non-fluoride toothpaste - and to stop night nursing). I feel like it played a part cause my nipple used to be in his mouth for a LONG time through the night and his gums form a pocket in the front (was shown in one article to be a factor in terms of nursing- that piece of gum that comes down low between his front teeth)
ALso the woman I sat next to at the dental surgeons said her little 2.5 yr old was back for his second appt to get a tooth pulled cause the first amount of decay was so bad.
Anyway- good luck!!! It really sucs either way...