Cavities in Young Children

Drilling on a 5yr old no way, my daughter had a cavity when she was 5 and her dentist put the white stuff then the sealant over her teeth and she has been fine. I hope you dentist is a pediatric dentist and not an adult dentist, because the things are done very different between the both.

Look into a dentist that does laser dentisty (my sons does). The whole process is much quicker and no novicaine is needed).

He had 2 filled last fall, he didn't like it, but the whole process was over in less than 15 minutes.

My son, now 11 had several cavities when he was younger. If you have a good pediatric dentist, there should be no reason to use nitrous, but it does depend on the child's tolerance for sitting still too. A good pediatric dentist will make it a positive experience, play movies/music and give NO trauma to the experience. My son LOVES to go to the dentist, despite having several cavities filled, teeth removed and now, orthodontics. He has developed really terrific dental habits including flossing, mouthwash and brushing as a result of a great dentist and the consequences of cavities. He takes pride in his teeth now. I recommend getting the mouth rinse that turns the teeth blue or green to show where they arent reaching with the toothbrush. It makes it a game and they like brushing/flossing better. Also recommend buying "Flossies" or a generic brand of flosser. It may not be the most environmental means, because you throw them away with each use, but it teaches them how to floss and makes it a little easier. They can graduate to normal floss later. And, I recommend "Tooth Tunes" or some character electric toothbrush. If you arent TOTALLY confident in your pediatric dentist, then change it. Dont know where you live, but Dr. Andrea Mattia in Old Tappan, NJ is the BEST! Hope this was helpful!

I cant stress this enough!! Its all in the dentist. My dentist told me my daughter had a cavaity due to the same thing as your child. Well, I freaked and asked how she was going to do it. She told me to relax and dont even talk to her about it. Just tell her she had an appt. So the day we went in, my dentist was WONDERFUL! She talked to her about cleaning her "princess teeth" and getting the "bad germs out so the princess teeth can be happy". She didnt need anything other than a little novacaine. My daughter is the nervous kind of kid too. Find a good dentist...oh and by the way...she isnt just for kids. My dentist sees adults too. You really need a good dentist for your kids, let alone you. I am so glad I didnt have to give her any drugs or gas.

Both my son & daughter had cavities in between their teeth last year as a result of poor flossing. My daughter did ok with the gas, but I hated seeing her that way. She was so drugged. M son had the gas at age 2 or 3and it was so bad because he was so scared of the mask that we didn't go through with it but had to pay for it as it was not covered in our insurance.

Also, the white fillings were not covered either. I have to say that I prefer the white and do pay extra for it. My son has the silver and I hate it, absolutely hate it.

Just try and prepare your son as best you can before hand and check your insurance. Good luck.

Hi A., My almost 5yo son developed four cavities. He loves bread and other sticky carbs so no surprise there. My husband took him to our family dentist. My son lay on daddy while the dentist did her work. As far as I know she did NOT drill, instead scraped the cavity. She had explained that the nerves are much closer to the surface by virtue of the small sizes of baby teeth so she doesn't usually drill baby teeth. My son did great; the dentist used silver amalgam-we all have it so its like he's part of our family now! Our dentist recommended using post-brushing anti-cavity rinse for children to help prevent future cavities.

Hi A.-
Do Not Give Your Son Nitrous Oxide. I'm surprised your dentist even suggested it. Just have him use a topical ointment and a novacaine injection. A study was done that laughing gas can cause neurological problems as well as nightmares.
I worked for a pediatric dentist for 5 years. We NEVER used nitrous oxide and we filled cavities on children younger than your son. If you like I can give you the name of a pediatric dentist in Brooklyn.
Hope this helps.
K.

Isnt he kinda young - I mean the teeth are going to fall out eventually - one of my sons had a cavity but they didnt do anything cause the tooth was going to fall out. Maybe it was just ready to come out. I dunno for sure, My kids also got sealants on their teeth so they shouldnt get any more cavities.

Good Luck

1st make sure you are going to a pediatric dentist. my son went to an adult dentist - no cavities then 6 months later at the age of 5 went to a pediatric dentist who told us he had a really bad cavity and needed root canal and a cap.. i freaked out.. well it seems to adult dentist saw a small spot but didn't respond to it.. and that's how it got much worse. the laughing gas is great and they don't feel a thing... the filling was perfect and the cap after a short while fell out when the tooth did.. thank goodness. my son started to get another cavity in between because his teeth were close together.. so i started him with a water pick to keep the between teeth cleaner.. it has worked .. he is going to be 13 next week.. and hasn't had any cavities.. hooray.. good luck.. A.

My husband is a dentist, and my niece has had a few things done in her mouth. First off, the cavity is there because the tooth wasnt cleaned properly. I have cavaties, and I didnt brush good enough when I was younger, so my teeth decayed. there is no other way to get a cavity, if the dentist said "not brushing but flossing was the culprit" it was just to make you feel better. But no judging, like I said I have had cavaties so lets address the issue for you and the other mothers, his teeth were not cleaned enough. Lesson learned. Second, chances are your son will get a crown. I DO recommend the silver (called amalgam) because "white" (called composite) is NOT intended to be used on teeth that take a lot of wear. The filling will fall out most likely on anyone if it is composite. But like I said most dentists will want to put a silver crown on the tooth to keep the fillng in and the tooth intact until it falls out on its own (hey and a special tooth fairy gift too) Also, as other mothers have said, DEFINATELY go to a pediactric dentist. I wouldnt recommend my husband for a child, not due too his skills (because I KNOW he is good with his daughter and niece and nephew) but a pediactric dentist is very capable of working with children. So please ensure the doctor is one of those. If you can afford it (and yes it is expensive) and your child is a wiggle worm (what 5yo isnt?) definately do the gas, but read up on the side effects. A cavity between 2 molars is a lot harder to drill out than a single surface filling. Thank You for taking care of your son though, Parents like you need to be thanked as we see so many children who go without dental care so often.

I think that your child will be fine. It is more scary for the parent then for the child. My son will be 6 next week and he went to the dentist yesterday and had his 2nd cavity in the very back bottom tooth. He does not eat candy and very very little sweets. He brushes 2-3 times a day and uses that Inspector Blue rinse everyday to make sure he brushes his teeth good and clean. His first filling was at age 5. They did not use gas, just a swab with the numbing agent on it and that was fine. He never cried, complained or anything. He was a real trooper and I'm sure your child will be also. Our dentist is great with children and hope yours is too!! :)
As for the silver or white fillings, at this age, since the tooth will fall out sometime, the dentist recommended the silver as it costs much less. As to the remark that Wanda made in her response: yes the tooth will fall out, but it might be a long time, and if you wait for it to fall out, the decay of the tooth might get too bad and then your child will be in pain and have other problems, so in my opinion, I would have it filled to save your child pain, discomfort and problems later :)

our daughter had 2 cavities at age 2. they did give her gas but since she was crying so hard it did not work. it took the the dentist and 3 assistants to hold her. anyway they say bad teeth can also be genetic and she is adopted so we do not know her history. it was not pleasant but we did get it done and hope when we go back to dentist in 2 week it is a better experience. she has come with us to our dentist to see us get our teeth cleaned so hopefully that has helped her. good luck.

A.

Children as young as 2 yrs old can get dental caries either on the chewing side or between their teeth. Generally when they are between the teeth it is the result of many things, genetics, poor flossing , illness, and food choices. Your soon to be 5 yr old is not alone in this. It is common and important to treat these teeth because many of them are with the child until they are 11-13 yrs of age. Was this the 1st dental visit.

I would reccomend if you feel unsure to definitly seek another opinion as it is your child and you need to feel secure in the choice you make for them.
Good Luck and any questions, please call don't hesitate to ask.

The only advice I can give you is be very careful with the nitrous. My daughter was 7 years old at the time when she had a tooth filled. They gave her the nitrous...and kept the piggy nose on her pretty much the whole time. She actually was knocked out by it. Here was my little girl with her mouth wide opened and she had fallen asleep or something! Well who falls asleep at the dentist! She was not responding to us at all, I asked the dentist if she was okay. I actually think the dentist was worried as well. They started to give her more oxygen and we kept talking to her and tickling the bottoms of her feet and all to try and wake her. She finally woke up after about 5-10 minutes(which felt like an eternity to me). When we finally left the office, I was watching her in the car to make sure she was okay. I saw her smile and noticed the one side of her face was droopy when she smiled. I was scared to death. I kept thinking she had a stroke or something from too much nitrous. It ended up being the she had to much, but it paralyzed her facial nerves on the one side. Her face finally (thank god) returned to normal after about 6 hours. I have not since returned to that dentist. So just be careful and ask many questions about the nitrous. I will never do nitrous again because of that. I hope this helps a little. Good Luck!
P.S. If your son is good with the dentist when he goes for cleanings, he should be okay. Sometimes the dentist will let the child sit on your lap while he does the work. I think it has a lot to do with how comfortable your child is in that situation.

Both of my children had cavities at very young ages due to deep crevices and tight teeth. They did put in the white, tooth colored fillings. I took my son to a dentist who had the nitrous oxide available in case he didn't sit still, but the dentist never used it. He numbed the area and just talked my son through it. I did not stay in the room but was near by and checked on him several times throughout the process. They never did use the nitrous oxide on him or my other child who had a similar experience. I did not have our regular dentist do the fillings either as they were not as comfortable with young children and referred me to someone who was better equipped to deal with this. They also sealed their teeth and we use ACT flouride rinse almost every day now. Both of my kids love going to the dentist and this was a positive experience for them.

Hi A.. Unfortunately we've been there as well. My son who is now 6 had a couple of cavities filled when he was 5. We were actually living out of the country at the time and they just did the novacane shot, but he really did not even know that they gave it to him. He was GREAT, did not cry at all and they did drill.
Now thinking about it, I wonder if it was partly because how calm my husband and I were. Of course I was DYING on the inside because I absolutely hate the dentist. And this is the thing my husband has to do with him. I can't go with my son because I'm afraid I'd make him more nervous.
Recently a friend of mine was over and she is an assistant at a pediatric eye doctor and she was saying that most kids are pretty calm about being there, but that a lot of the time when they get upset, it is because of the parents. She said they come in all upset and saying in front on the child how this is not going to be easy, my son/daughter is not going to cooperate and it goes on from there.
Just stay calm and positive and make sure you have a reward ready!!! My son got a "certificate of bravery" along with his new toothbrush and toy they gave him. It was so cute and I was SO proud of him!!! Hope it all works out okay.

My 3 yo recently had a cavity filled. The dentist began by giving him an oral med (can't remember the name) to relax him. He also got laughing gas and a topical numbing agent. My husband and I were both a mess beforehand and very concern about how our son was going to react. He does not like going to the dentist and in the past has always screamed through exams. The combo the densist gave him totally worked. My son was completely relaxed, actually stoned and he followed all the dentists directions without any protest. The procedure was very quick, about 10-15 minutes. The hardest part ended up afterward when he was coming down from the meds. and was acting a bit aggressive, kicking, hitting, but in retrospect it did not last very long. I would highly recommend taking your child to a periatric dentist if you are not already.

BTW: a few weeks ago there was a utube video circulating a few weks ago of a child post getting a cavity filled. He was fairly accurate of how my son also responded from the meds.

Good Luck,

W.

My children have not have cavities....yet! But as a child I have always had them and my experience as a child with dentists has shaped a great fear of them into my adulthood.
My suggestion is make sure the dentist is willing to get your child numb. Not just putting it in but actually waiting till the numbing agent takes effect which could be up to an hour for some people. Believe it or not a good dentist will wait.
I agree with you on the metal fillings but even though they have a really bad rap the metal ones are stronger and some people can have a sensitivity to the white ones. I myself am allergic to the white ones and they give me a great deal of pain after they are put in and if they are left in my pulp gets inflamed and then infected and I have needed root canals on two teeth because of the reaction I had from the filling. It sounds crazy I know but it is true.
I think most people can handle them well though.
I think the most important thing is to find a really patient dentist. As a child I never had a dentist wait till I was completely numb. As an adult I demand it and when my children have to get cavities filled I will also make sure they are completely numb.
Good luck! I'm sure it will go well.

hi A.,
My recently turned 5 year old has what the dentist called "soft spots" in between all of his molars. Just like you, he said it was the result of not flossing. He said if it wasn't for the X-rays he would never have seen them. My son's cousin, who's also 5, had eight cavities and had them all filled without any problems although at great expense to his mother! I like what someone said about the laser treatment. I've never heard of it before, but when my son's spots turn into cavities, which will probably come at his next visit, I'm going to try that approach. Good luck.