3 year old with root canal--HELP

[sillyguys]

We just learned that our three year old daughter may have to have a root canal. We were told that she drank too much Pediasure and developed two cavities in her teeth. My wife and I are obviously very concerned. Has anyone gone through this before? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[FreshTressa]

How can you drink too much pediasure?

Have you gotten a second opinion? Seems a bit extreme to me.

 

[janette]

I think I'd get a second opinion too. What tooth is it? Depending on which tooth if it's really in that bad of shape I'd be tempted to have it pulled before I'd have them do something that invasive to save it.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Sounds odd to me too. Unless she is having pain or infection, I think I would just wait until she loses it naturally.

 

[Colleen456]

Get a second opinion. There was a dentist here in Indiana that was fraudently saying kids needed work they didn't. Always always get a second opinion if it seems even slightly fishy!

I hope that they are wrong. Poor baby.

 

[polly p]

pupotomys(root canals for baby teeth) can be very effective. It's not like an adult root canal, its much less involved. It is at least worth a try, the alternative is pulling the tooth. If you really are unsure, get a second opinion. The dentist can try using Nitous Oxide gas to calm your child down. Try to watch how much juice intake your child has too, it contains lots of sugar and acid.

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

I agree with everyone that says to get a second opinion. I hope this all turns out ok for your little girl.

 

[momof2inPA]

They probably want to keep the spacing of the teeth to preserve their alignment. Is he wanting to do it under general or local anesthesia/ in the office or in the hospital? I would only have it done in the hospital if it's under general. Unfortunately, my youngest had this done. We were giving him high calorie sweet foods under doctor's orders and taking care of his teeth the same as his older brothers'. We should have brushed them more often, so I know how you feel. Don't beat yourself up about it.

 

[U2_rocks]

My DS had a root canal at age 4 - or a "pulpectomy" as it is called. It is very simple for baby teeth, as the roots are not at all deep and come out easily. It really wasn't much different from doing a filling. The only issue we had was that DS' kept oozing after it was supposed to stop, o it took a few weeks before the dentist felt comfortable putting in the permanent filling.

The way I understand it, baby teeth are markers for the permanent teeth underneath. If you pull out a baby tooth, the permanent tooth has a much greater chance of not coming in right. I preferred to get the pulpectomy done (it wasn't nearly as expensive as an adult root canal) NOW and avoid the potential orthodontia later!

By all means get a second opinion, or just ask your dentist to explain his/her rationale! I would never get a procedure done without discussing the "whys" with the doctor/dentist - I need to understand and approve of what anyone wants to do with my or my kids' bodies!

 

[U2_rocks]

They probably want to keep the spacing of the teeth to preserve their alignment. Is he wanting to do it under general or local anesthesia/ in the office or in the hospital? I would only have it done in the hospital if it's under general. Unfortunately, my youngest had this done. We were giving him high calorie sweet foods under doctor's orders and taking care of his teeth the same as his older brothers'. We should have brushed them more often, so I know how you feel. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Why would you want it done under general at a hospital? Is this due to the potential for such a young child freaking out? DS had it done in a dentist chair just like a filling! He was calm as a cucumber though - I guess not all kids are. I'm just wondering, not criticizing - I just never considered the hospital route with such a straightforward procedure.

 

[Marseeya]

My DS got a pulpectomy done when he was 4, and we did get a second opinion for it. It was no problem.

DD, on the other hand, had to have quite a bit of work done on her teeth and we chose to have it all done in a hospital. Anytime you're dealing with anesthesia in a little one, you really should have it done in a hospital. Do the research.

 

[Marseeya]

Why would you want it done under general at a hospital? Is this due to the potential for such a young child freaking out? DS had it done in a dentist chair just like a filling! He was calm as a cucumber though - I guess not all kids are. I'm just wondering, not criticizing - I just never considered the hospital route with such a straightforward procedure.

I think Momof2 is talking about only when it's done with anesthesia, not that it should be done that way. You don't want to fool around giving a little child anesthesia in a dentist's office because of all the complications that could occur. When we did this with my DD, I was SO. GLAD. we did the research, because she had a horrible reaction to the anesthesia and it was good that she was in the hospital for it. Another child was there at the same time, having a similar procedure done and went into convulsions from the anesthesia.

When DS had all his work done, no anesthesia, so we just did it in the office.

 

[U2_rocks]

I think Momof2 is talking about only when it's done with anesthesia, not that it should be done that way. You don't want to fool around giving a little child anesthesia in a dentist's office because of all the complications that could occur. When we did this with my DD, I was SO. GLAD. we did the research, because she had a horrible reaction to the anesthesia and it was good that she was in the hospital for it. Another child was there at the same time, having a similar procedure done and went into convulsions from the anesthesia.

When DS had all his work done, no anesthesia, so we just did it in the office.

Yeah, we didn't have anesthesia. It was really a very simple thing I found. Nothing like DH's root canal!

 

[laura001]

My youngest daughter had two root canals done when she was very young also. She was sedated for the work. The reasoning behind it was that if they left the teeth there the infection would spread to the other tooth below (the permanent one) and ruin it. They didn't want to pull the tooth because it could affect how the others were going to come in etc. It was quite a few years ago but that is how I remember it. When it came to capping them, all they used was a silver capping because it was not going to be permanent. The teeth she had done were in the back, you could see it sometimes but all in all was not a big deal. She now has beautiful teeth!

 

[epcotfan]

My friend's two year old had this done a few weeks ago. They did it to prevent infection. An abcess could kill. She had it done in the hospital under anethestic and sedation. She was sick after, but could have been much worse had they not taken care of the rotting teeth.

 

[DawnCt1]

DS 18 had a root canal when he was very little. He had fallen at Typhoon Lagoon and damaged his front central incisor and three lower incisors. The upper incisor required root canal. The 3 lower incisors never tightened up and continued wobbley teeth can also affect the secondary teeth. I got three opinions including one at UConn Dental School with a teaching professor and the verdict was all the same. I didn't have a problem with the root canal but it killed me to have 3 lower front teeth pulled. Of course he had to a partial plate to replace those teeth to maintain the space. Never pull a baby tooth until the other ones are developed.

 

[N.Bailey]

If you decide against the root canal, you'll probably have to get a space maintainer put in. IMO, the space maintainer in a 3 year old would be much worse than having the root canal done. My daughter wore one for a couple of years, but.......she wasn't 3 at the time. While not really a bad thing, you can't chew gum or eat taffy when you have one either.

Go for the 2nd opinion, but I think you'll find you've gotta make one choice or the other.

 

[Puffy2]

My first word of advice is to get a second opinion...or a third. Don't take one dentist's word for this.

 

[dizagain]

I would definitely get the second opinion and then I would go through with it if recommended. DD had to have 1 root canal, 2 crowns, and 1 extra filling. She inherited poor teeth from my Dad and me - fortunately our permanent ones come in much stronger! Anyway, she was 4 and not a fan of the dentist. They wanted her to take some valium and then have it done under anesthesia in office...I refused to do that because I was concerned about her reaction. So we opted for the hospital so she could be closely monitored and I'm so glad we did. Things went fine, but we felt much better being in the hospital. Good luck!

 

[momof2inPA]

Why would you want it done under general at a hospital? Is this due to the potential for such a young child freaking out? DS had it done in a dentist chair just like a filling! He was calm as a cucumber though - I guess not all kids are. I'm just wondering, not criticizing - I just never considered the hospital route with such a straightforward procedure.

In case of complications, my pedicatrician suggested this was the only acceptable alternative to him as well, and this was the dentist's preference. It took a little talking to convince the insurance company.