MY 3.5 year old DS has 4 cavities!!

[laurie31]

bumping this up bc I just found out that my 3 1/2 year old has several cavities. We took her to the dentist (my hubby's uncle) for her first visit, but he said we should go to a pediatric dentist to have xrays and all. The pediatric dentist was so creepy....i can't go back to him. So now I am going to take the xrays and go somewhere else. I feel terrible that she has cavities. I cried after leaving the office. I know its silly and it happens, but does anyone else have experience with this? Someone else mentioned sippy cups....why would this cause cavities?

Find another dentist!! I went to three before I found one that my DDs and I were comfortable with! My kids have enamel defects, which meant my little one got caps when she was barely a year old (she didn't have decay, but there was NO enamel on 4 of her teeth ) and my older one had lots of cavities and even a root canal by the time she was three

Sippy cups are bad because generally kids walk around with them, drink from them in the car, etc, therefore keeping their teeth bathed in sugar all day long. They aren't bad in and of themselves. I mean, it's fine to drink from one at mealtime, but they shouldn't walk around sipping from one all day.

Don't feel bad, but please find a pediatric dentist you are happy with. We have to drive 45 mins to ours, but it's worth it

 

[momz]

not to worry, it's much less stressful on the kid than it is on the mom. My son (3) just had a filling this morning actually. He did just fine, they talk nicely to him with instructions at his level of understanding. I think dental care has changed a lot over the years. Why is it that anyone 30 or older has so many fears of dentists, but younger people don't? I know my biggest fear at the dentist is the bill!!!

 

[cheerful chickadee]

my ds (11) had a surface cavity last year and they filled it without novocaine, he never felt a thing! It took all of 5 minutes. Now that you know your ds may have soft teeth or just be prone to cavities you can make the adjustments to his eating habits and dental care so that he doesn't get many "big" cavities. I have weak teeth and get cavities way easier than my sisters, I just have to make sure I brush more often and get the fluoride treatments and cleanings often. Also your dentist probably told you about sealants on kids teeth to help protect against cavities.

 

[kfeuer]

I'm sorry you're going through this, OP. I had horrible teeth as a child, and unfortunately I've passed it on to my boys. My poor oldest DS had several bad cavities and needed a crown the first time he went to the dentist at 3 years old They tried to do it in the office but he was so terrified/hysterical they couldn't do it. We ended up having to put him to sleep to get it done. Horrible.

With my youngest, he also had a couple cavities when he was 3. He was also terrified/uncooperative, but the cavities weren't bad enough to justify any kind of sedation. They ended up tying him down to do it I was sitting in the waiting room just bawling because I felt so bad, but I didn't feel like we had a choice. He bounded out a few minutes later perfectly okay (better then his mom by a long shot).

Luckily neither has been too scarred by these things, they both did fine at their last checkup (they're 6 and 4 now).

 

[MareQ]

It's not as big as it sounds. He'll be fine - you'll probably be the one suffering the worst

Unfortunately my boys have HORRIBLE teeth (DD is 6 and so far has "only" ever had 2 very minor surface cavities)

My oldest who is 9 has had 11 teeth extracted and 2 that fell out naturally (he has more gaps than teeth) In addition he has had two major procedures done in the hospital under anesthesia. One when he was 3.5 and one at 4.5 He had NO teeth in his mouth that are not filled, root canaled or capped. He has had MANY abscesses(Hence the 11 extractions), one which was so serious and came on so fast that he had to be hospitalized for 5 days.

My younest will be 4 next month. He has had 4 extractions, just had a bridge installed today, and had his first major dental procedure - in a hospital - just before his 3rd birthday last year. He has 2 teeth that have not had any work done to them - the rest have had work ie fillings, caps, root canals etc or were pulled out.

My oldest was a bottle fed to a sippy cup baby - my yougest was a breastfed baby that went right to a regular cup. My oldest one has had regular checkups since he was 2 - the other two as soon as their very first teeth popped through. I am MILITANT about tooth bruishing, I even carry arund toothbrushes and toothpaste in my purse, and I wash their toothbrushes in teh dishwasher every week - just because their teeth are THAT bad - I try to keep everything clean. They take flouride vitamins and we rinse with Act.

Despite my diligence - we are at the dentist at LEAST once every 6 weeks. I have NEVER made it a whole 6 months without a visit. In fact - with my youngest - today was our 4th visit since the first week of July.....

You seem to already be doing the best you can - try not to worry - it's just a very small bump in the road - he'll be just fine.

Oh and my oldest HATES the dentist - is TERRIFIED of him - but it's mostly because he's a Special Needs child with sensory issues - my youngest is an attention seeker and a flirt so he LOVES going there - go figure

 

[budbeerlady]

Some kids are prone to it. DD is lacking enamle on her teeth, that has made for expensive and not so fun dentist visits!

We now take DD to a pediatric dentist after she had a tooth absess on her around Christmas. She brushes like a mad girl, flosses and does the anti cavity rinse nightly, and still had a tooth go south and absess in the 6 month time period. After that she was so scared and upset to go to the dentist we switched to a pediartric dentist who has been wonderful for her! I feel so bad for her, we try so hard to keep her cavity free but nothing seems to work.

For the record, she drinks water or milk. She doesnt like anything else, if she eats candy she has to go brush after she is done. It isnt a fun life but we do what we can for her. And then hope her adult teeth come in with some protection for her!

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

My son was about 4 and he had 5 cavities and they filled them with no numbing either. Now the same son who will be 9 on the 24th has 3 cavities. He has to have them filled tomorrow. He is getting novacaine this time. The dentist asked me if he eats alot of candy... he doesn't. Then he asked me if he drinks alot of soda... again he doesn't but he does, well did, drink sugary iced tea. The dentist said that is sometimes worse than soda because of the sugar mix. Needless to say I didn't know that and he is no longer drinking it. He likes milk but will only drink so much of it and doesn't like juice. He has been drinking more water now but at first he was upset about the iced tea. I really didn't feel bad about giving it to him as I didn't really feel he drank all that much. He is a good eater, eats fruits and veggies like no other kid I know. I feel terrible about it and will probably cry tomorrow when he is getting those cavities filled.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I'm 25 and had my first cavity in April. The dentist said it's not uncommon for pregnant women to get a cavity--your hormones are different, you are eating different, etc. It was a surface cavity and they just numbed that side of my mouth. Not scary at all.

 

[Cinderella2004]

My DH is a pediatric dentist here in Mass! Maybe he was the good one you went to!?!

And I'm pretty sure I was previously employed by the first one.

 

[solferino]

My DH is a pediatric dentist here in Mass! Maybe he was the good one you went to!?!

Don't know if it's your DH, but we LOVE our peds dentist. So much that we drive an hour to get there. DD's best friend- her dad is a dentist with a much closer office but she refuses to see anyone but Dr. G. He's been awesome with her.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My ds had two filled when he was 3-4, and it didn't bother him at all. He didn't fuss or cry, and he was done within 10 minutes. No fears of the dentist, either, which kind of surprised me.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Another MA mommy here!

DS6 had 2 taken care of a few months back. Initially they said they would numb him but I thought the needle might freak him out so I asked if they could do the drilling w/o novacaine if it was a surface cavity. They did with no problems and other than DS saying it felt weird there were no complaints. We also have done sealants on 4 back teeth so far - all covered 100% by Delta Dental (we pay for high option plan at DH's work). Both DH & I have soft teeth and are prone to cavities - DD5 seems worse than DS6.

One of the things the DDS recommended was picking up chewing gum with the ingredient Xylitol (SP?) - Trident pink package bubble gum flavor has it. It is a ingredient that cavity causing bacteria do not like and it makes it a hostile environment for decay. It also promotes saliva which cleanses the teeth. Ironically they were not allowed gum before that dentist visit! We are a no gummy snacks of any type household. Primary reason for that decision was choking hazard because they become like glue when choking and do not move up or down the throat - they stick But the added reason was the fact that dentists saw a huge (around 50%) increase in cavities when these snacks came out. I always told my inlaws they can have pretty much anything but gummy candies/snacks are an absolute not, we would rather they had chocolate! Working in medical taught me something

Good luck with your child! Usually it is us doing the suffering during those checkups and well visits.

 

[froglady]

I travel 30 minutes to see a Pediatric dentist, who is not covered on any dental plan offered by DH's company.

It is worth it to me to have children who have never been afraid to visit a dentist due to a bad experience, unlike their parents.

He very rarely gives them novacaine, and then only after giving them gas. DD only remembers the novacaine she got from extractions. (She had to have teeth removed for her braces, and then had her wisdom teeth out a few years ago)

 

[beattyfamily]

So sorry OP.

My DDs had their first cavities at ages 6 (my younger DD) and 9 (my older DD). They each had one.

I just saw a story on the news (the Today show) about the increase in cavities in younger kids. They said it is from putting the child to sleep with a bottle or even breast milk! Also, drinking through the night, at will, will also cause it.

They also mentioned the sippy cups as well but it really was the putting them to sleep with milk that was the worst culprit.

The drink sits in their mouth rotting their teeth.

Good luck everyone!

edited to add this LINK to info on baby bottle tooth decay.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

My DH's office is in Braintree. He pretty much knows all the pediatric dentists here in MA, they are a pretty small group. Sounds like there are a lot of different experiences here with dentists, but I would second the no gummy anything, esp fruit snacks! They are the worst, even more so because many parents think they are "good" because the word "fruit" is in it...hello, that's smart marketing!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MareQ]

My DH's office is in Braintree. He pretty much knows all the pediatric dentists here in MA, they are a pretty small group. Sounds like there are a lot of different experiences here with dentists, but I would second the no gummy anything, esp fruit snacks! They are the worst, even more so because many parents think they are "good" because the word "fruit" is in it...hello, that's smart marketing!!!!!!!!!!!

Ditto for dried fruits like raisins - they're no better than fruit snacks..

 

[SeeDisney]

Wow......here's my thread from way back in the past.

Yes, I remember my initial reaction of so many concerns for my little one.

Well, he did fine with the drilling. The dentist first only wanted to fill two cavities at first. He used no novocaine and my boy didn't even flinch at all. The dentist asked my little boy if he can finish the other two and my boy said "yes". He got to pick out four toys out from the dentist office.

I later found out that my son at the time was HOARDING his halloween and Christmas candy and then eating it after I tucked him in to bed. That's how he those cavities.

Now, I keep his candy far from reach.

 

[dizneydiva2005]

My kids are 18, 14, and 10- and only the 10 year has had 1 cavity- which is awesome that it's only been 1 kid, 1 cavity! He did have it filled- he was nervous and the dentist wasn't so nice either- I wanted to punch her- next time I won't take her attitude, well, I have no plans to go back to that dentist. But don't let them belittle your child. This dentist was yelling at my son when he started to tear up. I told her it's his first one- he's nervous. She said if other kids see him crying it'll be bad. Oh so yelling won't scare the kids away? You freak... then she started being a little nicer to him. I over spoke her when he needed to be relaxed. I don't think she liked it and I didn't care.

Maybe you can give him something ahead of time to relax the nerves??

 

[maelstrom]

Sealing molars is not really a good idea. As explained to me by my adult dentist, if a piece of the sealant falls off, food can get under it, and you can't brush it off, so it rots the tooth. This happened to me. My pediatric dentist recommended sealing my molars, and my mom went along with it. Well, I go to the adult dentist many years later, and three of those teeth are completely rotted out. The pediatric dentist never saw those cavaties, either. We came to realize that something was not kosher with my pediatric dentist (should have known when the once busy practice became a ghost town). He also asked if I had considered braces... after I had gotten them off after THREE years. Something just wasn't right about him. But anyway. Sealing is not a good idea, so think twice before you have it done.

 

[PEANUT1]

wow! thanks to everyone for your stories. I didn't think about the sippy cup thing. My daughter never went to bed with the bottle and we always brush right before bed and then only give her water...but she LOVES orange juice. I give it to her several times a day. I dilute it with like 3/4 water, but still, I guess all that sugar is sitting on her teeth. My hubby has terrible teeth...and I know that sometimes these things are passed along. We also live in a town with no flouride in the water so she has to take the pills...I don't think they do as good of a job as the flouridated water. Oh well. I decided after the dentist no more gummies and cut back the oj to once a day. Otherwise she just drinks milk or water. Hopefully this will help her permanent teeth.