Kids cavities - need an opinion

[Allegra]

This is my personal experience. When I was about 17, my mother abruptly had to change dentists as the one we had always used moved to another state. The new dentist practiced a “new technology” called lazer dentistry. He used a lazer to examine our teeth and find cavities, which was supposedly superior to finding them by xray. With his machine, he found cavities in all our teeth. In my teeth, he found one cavity that was a “9” that he felt had to be filled immediately and several others that were “5 or less” which he claimed could be let go that day but would just get bigger as time went on.

My mother went ballistic and told us in the car ride home that we were all failures at dental hygiene and from that point on, we had to pay our cavity copayments out of our own money. I went out on my own shortly after that and it was six or seven years before I had dental insurance again.

I went to the dentist, certain that I was going to have to pay a fortune to fix all those “less than fives” that were probably “tens” by now. My new dentist didn’t have lazers. He used an xray. He could not find the cavities, including the one that dentist had supposedly filled.

The moral of the story is…if a dentist suddenly finds a mess of cavities in a mouth that’s never had them before, it’s time to find a new dentist.

PS- I have never had a cavity since.

 

[alexandratm]

Like others have said, get a second opinion.

I have a great dentist who’s not a big interventionist unless it’s needed. My last dentist would hound me all. the. time. about getting my wisdom teeth out. My new dentist asked if they gave me any trouble. When I said no, she said they were fine to stay in, as my teeth weren’t shifting. She asked first if I wanted novocaine when I had a minor cavity filled, and was fantastic when my mom broke a tooth a few weeks back.

Remineralization isn’t a woo-woo, hippy dippy unproven thing. Mainstream dentists do believe in it. My doc let me have a few months with my cavity when I asked her about it. We saw some improvement but she thought it prudent to do a bit of filling as well.

Basically, ask your dentist or get a second opinion. Depending on the situation, some doctors are open to trying remineralization techniques, but it really depends a lot on the situation. Find a good doc and good luck!

 

[tuscany]

**As dentists here like to say…" No, you absolutely DON’T need to floss all your teeth everyday, just floss the ones you want to keep".

I know a lady whose grandmother came west in a covered wagon. At her death, she still had ALL her own teeth, they were in perfect condition, and she was 84. The lady told me that her grandmother was taught to ALWAYS run white sewing thread (dental floss hadn’t been invented yet) between her teeth after she ate.

When my kids were little, I got each one a cute old fashioned 3 minute egg timer that had colored sand running through the glass as the timer. Each kid had a different color of sand and it gave them something to look at while they brushed and they knew how long to brush. I also let each kid pick out the toothpaste they wanted ( as long as it was ADA approved ). I would always buy the smallest tube when they first tried a new brand or flavor. Each kid felt special and wanted to use their own toothpaste. I flossed for each kid until the dentist watched them do it, and gave the OK that they had learned how to do it correctly and that they could now do it on their own.

As others have pointed out, “baby teeth” are very important. Five examples of how…One, they allow your child to eat and learn how to chew properly. Two, they are the teeth that your child learns how to take care of so they will be ready to take care of their permanent teeth. Third, healthy teeth keep any decay from injuring the forming teeth under them. Fourth, A bad infection of these teeth can and do, travel to other parts of the body. Fifth, They hold the spot for the permanent tooth under it.

All the best-**

 

[ack]

In 2007, a 12-year-old boy in Maryland died from an infected tooth after his dental care was neglected: abcnews.go.com/Health/Dental/story?id=2925584

I’m sure that the details of his case are different from yours, but a lack of appropriate dental care can result in serious consequences, beyond just dealing with a damaged tooth.

 

[Cricket2]

This is my personal experience. When I was about 17, my mother abruptly had to change dentists as the one we had always used moved to another state. The new dentist practiced a “new technology” called lazer dentistry. He used a lazer to examine our teeth and find cavities, which was supposedly superior to finding them by xray. With his machine, he found cavities in all our teeth. In my teeth, he found one cavity that was a “9” that he felt had to be filled immediately and several others that were “5 or less” which he claimed could be let go that day but would just get bigger as time went on.

My mother went ballistic and told us in the car ride home that we were all failures at dental hygiene and from that point on, we had to pay our cavity copayments out of our own money. I went out on my own shortly after that and it was six or seven years before I had dental insurance again.

I went to the dentist, certain that I was going to have to pay a fortune to fix all those “less than fives” that were probably “tens” by now. My new dentist didn’t have lazers. He used an xray. He could not find the cavities, including the one that dentist had supposedly filled.

The moral of the story is…if a dentist suddenly finds a mess of cavities in a mouth that’s never had them before, it’s time to find a new dentist.

PS- I have never had a cavity since.

You are so correct. Now, I have been plagued with teeth like my mothers. Brush, floss, brush floss, and every six months a cavity. Almost every tooth in my head is filled and I have 4 root canals. My teeth decay from the inside to the outside. Not the other way around. Oh I could just scream.

Still, people should shop for a good dentist, and when children are involved for one that is good with kids.

Brush and floss people. Watch out for the sugar load too. Happy smiles.

 

[Cat]

I work in a hospital microbiology lab as a med tech. That means that I read the plates and identify the bacteria. I’m not just a assistant. I know microbiology.

About twice a year, we get a heart valve with orders to culture. The heart valve looks like chewed-up meat.

The diagnosis is “infection due to dental caries.”

The bacteria that live in the mouth and on the gums has an affinity for heart valves. If those bacteria get into the bloodstream through the mouth (usually through fissures created by neglect of gums, or because of dental work to repair cavities, the bacteria will head straight to the heart valve and start chewing up the tissue.

Obviously this isn’t good for the patient, who usually doesn’t survive. You kind of need heart valves for your heart to work.

I think that if people could see those horrible chewed-up heart valves, they would floss, brush, and visit the dentist religiously. I do.