18mo needs filling, unsure of dentist and cause of decay
Hi, I read the Dental Board all of the time and this is my first post.
I brush ds's teeth twice a day and sometimes floss when he is in the mood, but his two front teeth have started to decay. We are trying the remineralization process, but it is still too soon to know if it is working.
Anywhoo, after reading all of the archives I still have some questions.
We went to a dentist in Wichita who was the only ped./family dentist that accepted children with medicaid insurance. He is a nice man, and mainly only treats children. The office is really busy and most of his patients are on state health plans, which really doesn't matter, but makes him even busier.
So he looks at ds's teeth after the hygienist brushed them and flourided them and he says, stop the bottle. Well, I try to tell him that ds has never been bottle fed, but the dentist speaks only broken English. Then he tells me that it must be the pacifier. Well I have been meaning to wean ds off the paci, but slowly. Is it really the pacifier that is making his front teeth decay? How much research has been done on this? Why don't I read this in any of the baby books?
The dentis tells me to bring him back, that it is decaying and we have to fix it before it causes pain. Agreed. He says he will make him sleepy and then give him laughing gas and I will hold him. He says he may cry some, but it will be quickly over with. This is all great to me.
Well, then I tried to ask him about his other teeth, how to keep them from decaying and all he would tell me is to get the pacifier away from him.
After I left I realized that I knew nothing about what sedative he will give ds. In the archives I read about several and though I am not happy about giving ds these things, I do know he needs his cavity filled. What I am worried about is the communication problem. Dh, doesn't care, he says the man seems confident and obviously treats a lot of children.
Should I be worried? I can't get another dentist because noone will take us.
Any input is appreciated. Sorry about the rambling post.
I brush ds's teeth twice a day and sometimes floss when he is in the mood, but his two front teeth have started to decay. We are trying the remineralization process, but it is still too soon to know if it is working.
Anywhoo, after reading all of the archives I still have some questions.
We went to a dentist in Wichita who was the only ped./family dentist that accepted children with medicaid insurance. He is a nice man, and mainly only treats children. The office is really busy and most of his patients are on state health plans, which really doesn't matter, but makes him even busier.
So he looks at ds's teeth after the hygienist brushed them and flourided them and he says, stop the bottle. Well, I try to tell him that ds has never been bottle fed, but the dentist speaks only broken English. Then he tells me that it must be the pacifier. Well I have been meaning to wean ds off the paci, but slowly. Is it really the pacifier that is making his front teeth decay? How much research has been done on this? Why don't I read this in any of the baby books?
The dentis tells me to bring him back, that it is decaying and we have to fix it before it causes pain. Agreed. He says he will make him sleepy and then give him laughing gas and I will hold him. He says he may cry some, but it will be quickly over with. This is all great to me.
Well, then I tried to ask him about his other teeth, how to keep them from decaying and all he would tell me is to get the pacifier away from him.
After I left I realized that I knew nothing about what sedative he will give ds. In the archives I read about several and though I am not happy about giving ds these things, I do know he needs his cavity filled. What I am worried about is the communication problem. Dh, doesn't care, he says the man seems confident and obviously treats a lot of children.
Should I be worried? I can't get another dentist because noone will take us.
Any input is appreciated. Sorry about the rambling post.
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
Thank you for answering my question (however jumbled in my message it was). Ds is 18months. The dentist was trying to say, though his hygienist was the one who translated most of it, that the pacifier causes there to be a concentration of the sugars and bacteria that are in his mouth from food and such, at the front of his teeth. This would make sense to me if I weren't doing other things to prevent the bacteria from hanging out, but I don't think that the pacifier is the issue. Could it just be heredity? Dh and I both have a history of cavities, though in my case I try to be very proactive, Dh just doesn't care.
I guess I just don't know if I should wait to try and find another dentist, because of the language barrier or if I should stick with this guy. Someone suggested going to the teaching dentistry at WSU, what do you think?
Thanks again,
Bianca
I guess I just don't know if I should wait to try and find another dentist, because of the language barrier or if I should stick with this guy. Someone suggested going to the teaching dentistry at WSU, what do you think?
Thanks again,
Bianca
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
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