OT: Kids' dental fillings

[juliana_sd]

Just got home from the dentist and DS4.5 has 3 cavities We brush, floss, flouridated mouthwash... he doesn't get soda, and juice only occasionally. Unfortunately he inherited his dad's horrible teeth.

How did your young kid handle fillings at this age and what can I do to prepare him? We have a "going to the dentist" dvd but it really only covers checkups and not fillings. I'm worried he'll be terrified of the dentist after this (right now he likes going).

 

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

So sorry.... I'm afraid my middle dd has a cavity and we've been talking about what the dentist will do. She seems fine w/ it, as long as her filling will be white and not silver like Gramma's...... Good luck!

 

[CTmommyx3]

Oh I have been there sadly too many times. I know my kids have gotten my bad teeth as well. We do the same I still brush their teeth, use flossers and the fluoride rinse. Still DD who is 6 has about 7 cavities. She had them all done. They used the laughing gas. She was great but she was scared. i did get her a small prize. Since she did it, and it is not her fault she had the cavity so it was not like I was rewarding her for having a cavity.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My DS, now 7, has had three fillings, the first when he was four. He goes to a pediatric dentist, and he did so well. DH and I waited in the waiting room (office policy, DH grew up going to that dentist, we didn't have a problem with it) and the assistant told DS she would come for us if he needed/wanted her to. He said ok, and went back with her.

About 10 minutes later, I see hom standing at the door, so I assumed he needed us.....wrong. He was done. They didn't use any kind of gas, and he didn't have any problems with it. He didn't cry (he was proud to tell us), he got in the chair and didn't say a word.

6 months later, he had another cavity. We told him he was going to have another filling, and I asked if he wanted me to go with him, and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said he wasn't afraid and I could stay in the waiting room.

 

[holly7347]

DD has had 2 small fillings done and a 3rd they are watching and will only fill if it starts to get bigger or she says it is hurting. She really did ok. She did cry while it was going on but I think that was more just the noice and laying back as soon as they stopped the drill and she was allowed to sit up she was fine. She has been to the dentist since then and hasn't freaked out at the word dentist. The dentist told me she would try and if Paige freaked they would immediately stop and refer us to the local Children's Hospital where they could put her under, luckily we did not need to do that. Her biggest fear of the dentist is the chair. She does not like being laid back like that with her head so low.

 

[bumbershoot]

After quite a bit of searching for the right dentist, we found a great one.

He has a private room away from the older kids and regular appointments. He allows a parent in (we send in my hubby b/c DS is braver with him), and in fact DS's first two appointments DS didn't even lay on the table, he sat on hubby's lap then leaned back so his upper body was on the dentist's legs, and that is how the dentist checked out his teeth and had the first working appointment.

The room has a TV in the ceiling, and that is where DS first saw Finding Nemo. Well, the first 20 minutes of it; I joked around with the dentist about that choice in movies, and he said that they never got far enough into the movie to get to the dentist part.

The best part about Ben is that he starts with the minimum of medication. This is good for us b/c I know from hubby that not everyone needs medication for teeth work. So when DS had a filling, the dentist actually didnt' use anything, even though he did drill for the filling. DS did great, no pain at all. That was the work done while on DH and the dentist's legs.

The next appointment involved pulling two horrible teeth. For that, he did a tiny bit of lidocaine, and again DS did great. I could tell he had that weird un-numbing feeling as the lidocaine wore off, and honestly, I can't help but wonder if that's not worse than having teeth pulled.

So that's our dentist, and he's great (he made one mis-step for the third working appointment b/c he assumed DS would be hyper, and insisted he take a prescription benadryl-type thing, but it was made with corn syrup and dyes, and DS absolutely flipped out on the drug...I gave the dentist a piece of my mind about it, and he accepted my anger and now we won't medicate DS for appointments like that anymore).

Don't assume your guy will have a horrible experience, b/c if your DDS is as good as ours, he might very well not!

 

[beattyfamily]

I have 2 girls who've had cavities and fillings.

My older DD did fine. She was probably 9. My younger DD I knew would have a harder time due to her age, personality and her other health issues (sensory issues etc...). I decided to do her first filling with the laughing gas. It was wonderful. She did so well that a couple weeks later when they did her second filling we decided she'd be fine without the laughing gas. Well, she wasn't. She felt the needle and cried the rest of the time.

A year later, yesterday, we find out she has two more cavities. I'm absolutely doing the laughing gas again. It's worth the $100 (not covered under dental insurance).

Also, the key is to have a wonderful pediatric dentist in the first place!

 

[3mickeymom]

My son also has had alot of Dental work. First off, if you are brushing,flossing and feeding your child the right foods, do not feel guilty. I felt so badly about the state of my sons teeth. I just didn't know what I was doing wrong. I asked around and found a wonderful pediatric dentist. Our first visit did not include any work, just an evaluation. He and his assistant explained all the workings of the office in child like terms. Mr. Thirsty takes the extra spit from your mouth and they put it to his hand so that he could see how it sucked up the fluid. the moving chair was like a ride and they moved it up and down for him. The bright light was like the sun and the Dentist has the children put on sunglasses to help block it out. There was a TV and the child could pick a movie or cartoon to watch. The whole time , they would say things to support the children in very soothing,calm voices(think Mr. Rodgers tones) At first I thought the way they were speaking was kinda corny but it worked. Also, They let the child pick a small toy to hold, I guess to keep their hands occupied. Every so often, they would have the child shoot a nerf ball into a nearby basket( to break up the visit). I did sit in the same room but behind my child and the dentist would say things like "Isn't Mike doing a great job MoM ? " My son had caps put on his baby teeth , so he had extensive work done. Also, he recommended bringing pain reliever with me and giving it to him right after the visit. Also, the dentist wore Hawaiin shirts so he didn't have a medical look to him. he would put on a smock to do the work. Good Luck to you and your child.

 

[ljmetro]

Please don't think I am completely lazy, but didn't really read other responses. Anyway, my son 7 has had 3 to 4 fillings. Our dentist uses some type of light/lazer thing and water to remove the decay -- no drills. As long as the tooth has never had work on it, it can be used. Not sure what it is called. But my son could care less if he has to get a filling. The only thing that bothered him was if it was a little deeper cavity -- he would get a weird feeling when getting closer to the root, but it was very quick.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I think it depends on the child , how they are going to handle it. My dd8 had to have a tooth filled when she was 5, we had to get the laughing gas because she was panicking. My dd6 has had a few filled and does fine with them, and never minds going to the dentist. My dd's dentist told me that filling baby teeth is nothing compared to adult teeth, that it doesn't really hurt. I'm sure it's not pure joy though Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

[juliana_sd]

Thank you all so much, it really helps. I haven't been able to find a pediatric dentist on my insurance that allows a parent in the room (that's non-negotiable for me), but the family dentist we go to doesn't have a problem with it. They are good, but not super kid-oriented if that makes sense (no tv's or "fun" stuff - they do have a "treasure chest" when we leave).

I think I will call the dentist and ask their usual procedure for kids, I didn't want to ask too many questions while DS was sitting right there. The gas is a great idea! The needle is going to freak him out... and if they have to drill, whoo boy. He gets nervous with hair clippers!

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Do you have a pediatric dentist in your area who perform waterlase/laser dentistry? My dd had her first cavity in December and I was very, very nervous about the whole procedure. The dentist/nurses assured me that with waterlase dentistry, she will not feel any pain at all. I was there watching the whole procedure and she didn't have to be numbed, and no pain at all.

 

[cjemscott]

I am a Dental Hygienist in a Family Practice, going on 10 years now. From my experience it's all how the parents handle the before and during...He will definitly feed off of your energy...we only use words like "put the tooth to sleep" instead of "shot" or "needle" - those are terrifying words for kids (as you know!) We allow parents to come back, but most kids actually do better if you are not back there, or if you stand back a little, the parents that hold their child's hand or rub their leg know that "sympathetic mom" will "save" them. (don't worry, I turn into "sympathetic mom" when my children are in the chair so I'm not critisizing anyone) Just be as positive as you can be about it - "The dentist is going to take bad bugs out of your teeth and put good ones back in" "Your teeth are sick and we need to put medicine in them to fix them" etc....DON'T use "shot", "needle", "hurt", "pain", etc...
A good DDS will explain things in kid terms before he does anything also.

If for whatever reason he does not handle things well, then really look into getting a pediatric dentist in the future for only fillings. We play "good cop, bad cop" Then the "bad" experiences happen at the pediatric dentist and the "good" experiences (cleanings, exams, etc) happen at the normal dentist and he has a good memories to associate as he grows up!

and yes Nitrous Oxide gas is a great idea and very safe for children!

Hope that helps a little, it's a little long - and I wish I had spell check! lol

Good luck to you and to your little guy!

 

[zoemurr]

My DS, now 7, has had three fillings, the first when he was four. He goes to a pediatric dentist, and he did so well. DH and I waited in the waiting room (office policy, DH grew up going to that dentist, we didn't have a problem with it) and the assistant told DS she would come for us if he needed/wanted her to. He said ok, and went back with her.

About 10 minutes later, I see hom standing at the door, so I assumed he needed us.....wrong. He was done. They didn't use any kind of gas, and he didn't have any problems with it. He didn't cry (he was proud to tell us), he got in the chair and didn't say a word.

6 months later, he had another cavity. We told him he was going to have another filling, and I asked if he wanted me to go with him, and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said he wasn't afraid and I could stay in the waiting room.

This was almost our exact experience. My DD was 4 or 5 and I went back with her but was paying attention to her little brother. She had no problems at all and wasn't sedated. She actually loves the dentist...

 

[seashell]

We just had our 3 year old with a cavity. Our dentist tested our well water and low and behold we have no flouride in our water, so we've started with flouride pills. We have taken good care of her teeth. Dentist said this should help. We still have to get her cavity filled and she is going to freak out.

 

[estherhead]

We just got fillings Tuesday. I say "we" because I had to have my old ones drilled out & re-done. I had 3 on the way back teeth on 3 different sides of my mouth.

The youngest (6) had laughing gas (it was only $35.00 for us.) The next girl (7) chose no gas. Both did great. It isn't a pediatric dentist as we live in a small town & that doesn't exist. But she is an amazing dentist.

As a matter of fact, Im the only one who had issues as evidently I'm not sensitive to novacaine & after 8, yes I said 8!!! shots of it we decided I would just deal with the pain. It was absolutely horrific. Plus, evidently 8 shots of Novacaine makes me throw up which I did all evening. The dentist told my girls that they were WAY braver than Mommy & that they could visit her any time but Mommy should just try to stay away. Ha! The girls thought this was fabulous and they have to go back in a month or so & they are all excited about going back. Me, not so much. I'm really hoping I never have to go back.

I really think the gas helped the youngest. As the dentist described it, "She can still feel what I'm doing, she just doesn't care." Also, oddly enough, my girls were excited about the shiny metal in their mouths. It was interesting to them so I ended up using that as a selling point.