Is there a dentist in the house?

[Miz Diz]

My son just turned 7. He had his first dentist appointment last August and had 2 cavities (each on different sides). One of the cavities was so small, they didn't have to numb him. They filled the cavity in September.

Last week, I took him to the dentist for his 6 month cleaning/checkup. The tooth that had the very small cavity is now absessed. I asked the dentist why that would happen - Is it because he is not brushing properly? She said, no that sometimes the baby tooth rejects the filling and makes it get absessed. I thought it was strange that the tooth that had the minor cavity was absessed, but the other not, but I did not question it. She recommended pulling the tooth and putting in a spacer. I asked her if there were any other options and she told me no and that she recommends pulling it.

I asked 2 friends who are dental hygienists about this. They both said they have never heard of a tooth getting absessed because it is rejecting the filling. THey both think all of the decay was not taken out - thus causing the absessed. They both also told me that there is an option of him getting a baby root canal. They did not know which was more painful, but both feel it is probably better to save the tooth. This is the #L tooth that my son will not lose until he is about 10-12. They both recommended I get a second opinion.

I am going to make an appointment with another doctor, but is there anything else I need to know? Any dentists here have any recommendations (Even though I am still going for another opinion) on taking the tooth out vs baby root canal?

It is cheaper for us to have it taken out, but we are not concerned with the cost - just what is better for our son.

 

[storzo]

I am not a dentist, but I just read an article this weekend that says it is NOT recommended to remove baby teeth. I don't remember all the points but something about the tongue finding the space and speech possibly being affected.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Putting my flame suit on....
why would this be his first trip to a dentist? While I was pregnant my dentist recommend their 1st visit at 2 1/2. They are 11 and 7 now and actually love going.
I would get another opinion before you have the tooth pulled. I would also have your son rinse every night (after brushing) with Act fluoride rinse. I would make sure he doesn't eat/drink (except water) after brushing until morning.
If the cavities are occuring between teeth he needs to start flossing. They make cute little Buzz Lightyear ones that my 7 y.o can do himself. If the cavities are on the chewing surfaces, you should discuss sealants w/ your dentist though most insurance companies won't pay for it on baby teeth and it's about $30/tooth.
My dentist also gives my kids a prescription for chewable fluoride which makes their permanant teeth more resistant to cavities. (Once all perm teeth come in, they won't have to take the chewables.)
I'm sad for your son and hope it gets better for him.

 

[Miz Diz]

Putting my flame suit on....
why would this be his first trip to a dentist? While I was pregnant my dentist recommend their 1st visit at 2 1/2. They are 11 and 7 now and actually love going.
I would get another opinion before you have the tooth pulled. I would also have your son rinse every night (after brushing) with Act fluoride rinse. I would make sure he doesn't eat/drink (except water) after brushing until morning.
If the cavities are occuring between teeth he needs to start flossing. They make cute little Buzz Lightyear ones that my 7 y.o can do himself. If the cavities are on the chewing surfaces, you should discuss sealants w/ your dentist though most insurance companies won't pay for it on baby teeth and it's about $30/tooth.
My dentist also gives my kids a prescription for chewable fluoride which makes their permanant teeth more resistant to cavities. (Once all perm teeth come in, they won't have to take the chewables.)
I'm sad for your son and hope it gets better for him.

His first appt was when he was 6.5. The reason it was his first appointment is because he was required to have his teeth checked out before entering Pre K at 4 and K at 5, but I took him to the health department to get his teeth looked at - he did not have any problems. I did not take him to a dentist because I had been seeing a dentist that I was not happy with and wanted to take him somewhere that I knew others had good experiences with. I never got any recommendations. I also was not concerned because I never even had a cavity until I was 30 years old and we take good care of his teeth.

I also asked the dentist for an appointment for my 3 year old and they said unless there is a problem, they don't need to be seen until they are 5 years old. This is a pediatric dentist - they only see kids.

This absessed tooth is, in my opinion and 2 hygienist's opinion, due to the dentist not getting all the decay out. He rinses every night with a flouride rinse.

Luckily he is not in any pain. I have an appointment with another dentist tomorrow.

 

[Miz Diz]

I am not a dentist, but I just read an article this weekend that says it is NOT recommended to remove baby teeth. I don't remember all the points but something about the tongue finding the space and speech possibly being affected.

Thanks for your input. It just doesn't seem right to pull it, but if the 2nd dentist also recommends it, we will do it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I must be a little paranoid then since I had so many cavities as a child even at age 2 and root canal by age 5. I would never want my kids to go through all the pain I had to.
We go every 6 mos. problem or not to get cleanings,fluoride treatments and if there are cavities, treat them early.
I hope you find a dentist you and your ds like. My dentist is female and they really love her.

 

[RMulieri]

Putting my flame suit on....
why would this be his first trip to a dentist? While I was pregnant my dentist recommend their 1st visit at 2 1/2. They are 11 and 7 now and actually love going.
I would get another opinion before you have the tooth pulled. I would also have your son rinse every night (after brushing) with Act fluoride rinse. I would make sure he doesn't eat/drink (except water) after brushing until morning.
If the cavities are occuring between teeth he needs to start flossing. They make cute little Buzz Lightyear ones that my 7 y.o can do himself. If the cavities are on the chewing surfaces, you should discuss sealants w/ your dentist though most insurance companies won't pay for it on baby teeth and it's about $30/tooth.
My dentist also gives my kids a prescription for chewable fluoride which makes their permanant teeth more resistant to cavities. (Once all perm teeth come in, they won't have to take the chewables.)
I'm sad for your son and hope it gets better for him.

Many people don't have dental insurance to cover it and need to relay on dental school open house or public teeth screenings.My husband and I just got decent dental coverage and can finally take my 4 y/o to the dentist.

 

[klj27]

My just turned four year old had a tooth removed in September. At his first dental appt (age 2 1/2) the dentist showed me that he had a baby tooth that never formed all the way. He did something to it (I can't remember what, but it was like a filling) and told me the same thing you heard. The filling can be rejected and only works about half the time. About five months later he was complaining that his mouth hurt. He had his regular appt the next week and I mentioned it to the dentist then. The area under the tooth was nasty infected and the tooth needed to come out. If we wouldn't have taken it out he would have kept getting infections under that tooth and we all know how bad that is for your overall health. He went on antibiotics for three weeks and then they pulled the tooth. He said we will probably need a spacer in the future but not yet. He goes for his 6 month check up today so I may have more to report tonight.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

Do you have a pediatric dentist in your area? They might be more familar with what is recommended for baby teeth...

 

[PEANUT1]

Baby root canal is not painful. My daughter had to have one last year (she was 3 1/2 years old). We started taking her and 3 to see the dentist and it just seems she has weak teeth (just like my husband). Most dentists try to save teeth if they can because those back baby teeth don't fall out until like 12 years old and if they are pulled early sometimes the new tooth doesn't come in at all.

 

[PA Princess]

Seems there have been several threads of kids with dental issues lately. I had very weak baby teeth with lots of issues, so we have always taken our kids for their first dental visit by age 3.

Of course, our youngest just had to be unique and she saw the dentist at age 8 days She was actually born with her two front bottom teeth (pretty rare). But the teeth were not formed well and they were very loose. Pediatrician was concerned they would fall out while nursing and the baby would choke, so we had them removed by the pediatric dentist.

DD is now three and still has a space in the front...no other teeth ever appeared (sometimes kids will have 3 sets of teeth and will still get baby teeth). It has not been an issue for her in anyway to not have those teeth and the girl talks up a storm and talks very, very well.

Hope you are able to determine the best treatment plan for your son!

 

[Miz Diz]

My just turned four year old had a tooth removed in September. At his first dental appt (age 2 1/2) the dentist showed me that he had a baby tooth that never formed all the way. He did something to it (I can't remember what, but it was like a filling) and told me the same thing you heard. The filling can be rejected and only works about half the time. About five months later he was complaining that his mouth hurt. He had his regular appt the next week and I mentioned it to the dentist then. The area under the tooth was nasty infected and the tooth needed to come out. If we wouldn't have taken it out he would have kept getting infections under that tooth and we all know how bad that is for your overall health. He went on antibiotics for three weeks and then they pulled the tooth. He said we will probably need a spacer in the future but not yet. He goes for his 6 month check up today so I may have more to report tonight.

Thanks for this info. I was really not trusting what the dentist said about the tooth rejecting the filling. Especially when I was told by the dentist that pulling is the only option, then to find out they can do a baby root canal. Maybe the dentist didn't offer the baby root canal b/c she felt it would not be a good option for him.

 

[krystalleigh1]

If you don't feel right-definitely get a 2nd opinion.

I've been taking my ds to a ped. dentist since about 2 yrs of age. I had bad baby teeth and so did my dh. Anyway, he's had a cavity for about a year. The ped dentist told us he had it but wanted to keep an eye on it. We went in Sept. and she never mentioned filling it. By Feb. he was in pain and it really needed to be dealt with. Unfortunately for children as young as my ds (4 yrs) she only works on them by giving them a narcotic OR by putting them under at the hospital while doing the procedure. We were not comfortable with either option. So we got a second opinion from another dentist.

A few weeks later my ds had his cavity filled by our new dentist, without the use of narcotics or putting him under at the hospital. DS did great and they were done in less than 30 minutes.

So I guess the point of my story is to get a second opinion. You'll feel so much better about things afterward. I'm so glad I got a second opinion.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Many people don't have dental insurance to cover it and need to relay on dental school open house or public teeth screenings.My husband and I just got decent dental coverage and can finally take my 4 y/o to the dentist.

I did consider this too but unless I was in utter poverty I would still pay out of pocket. It's a lot cheaper to pay for preventative dentistry than repairs. This would definitely come way before anything Disney in my list of priorities, esp. DVC!
jmo

 

[2thfairy]

I'm a dental hygienist and just curious to see what you find out. I would defintately get a 2nd opinion. Every dentist has their own way of doing things. I have seen many baby root canals done and it is no different to the kid then having a filling done for them. If it was my own kid I would try the root canal if the dentist thought it was possible. There are some reasons where they can not perform them on a tooth. From my experience any tooth that has had work done can abcess. It seems more common then you would think. I would try to find a dentist you can trust and go by what they say. You may need a 3rd and 4th opinion if that is what it takes to find a dentist you feel comfortable with. Good luck and I hope everything goes well.

 

[klj27]

Thanks for this info. I was really not trusting what the dentist said about the tooth rejecting the filling. Especially when I was told by the dentist that pulling is the only option, then to find out they can do a baby root canal. Maybe the dentist didn't offer the baby root canal b/c she felt it would not be a good option for him.

We are home from the dentist. I asked him (pediatric dentist - featureed in Highlights magazine) about the space where the baby tooth was. He said it is healing very well and explained to me how it looks like it has a seam right down the middle and it is hardly noticeable anymore. He said that he will need a spacer before the back teeth start to come in, which is around age 6. He said around age 5 he will put in a spacer using the tooth behind the space to hold the space until the adult tooth comes in. I believe the tooth that came out wouldn't normally come out until age seven or eight. Hope you get all your questions answered.

BTW... The dentist was going to take the tooth out in his office using laughing gas. He couldn't get my son calm enough where he felt like he could safely do the procedure. We ended up going to an oral surgeon and they gave him a liquid med to make him loopy and then they sedated him for the procedure. It's never easy when one of your kids needs heavy meds but it went really well.

 

[famofsix]

it is good to see the procedure went well. Have you considered Sealants for his molars? They help keep the back teeth cavity free along with good dental care. They are used a lot with kids prone to cavities for reasons other than dental care (soft teeth, heredity). I can't remember the recommended age for them. It might be a couple years off depending on what molars he has now.

 

[klj27]

it is good to see the procedure went well. Have you considered Sealants for his molars? They help keep the back teeth cavity free along with good dental care. They are used a lot with kids prone to cavities for reasons other than dental care (soft teeth, heredity). I can't remember the recommended age for them. It might be a couple years off depending on what molars he has now.

I am not the op, but I think you are referring to me. I was just telling the op that I went through something similar with my son and he had a check up today. Our dentist does use sealants on the molars. I believe he does it around age 7.

 

[famofsix]

I am not the op, but I think you are referring to me. I was just telling the op that I went through something similar with my son and he had a check up today. Our dentist does use sealants on the molars. I believe he does it around age 7.

Oh sorry OP I did get confused

 

[pigget74]

My DD had a cavity in a baby tooth and we got a filling for it. Within 2 weeks we were back having a baby root canal. Within another 4 mths the ortho requested that she have 4 teeth pulled and guess what----it was that tooth. Good luck with everything. By the way and baby root canal is NO WHERE near the COST of an adult root canal.