My 7 yo son saw the dentist last week and has a mouthful of dental trauma: 3 abscessed teeth (currently there are 2 pea-size bumps on the outside of his gum) and 4 cavities! I am horrified - for him and me. My husband and I have never really had any major issues, but I guess my son does, and I apparently have some major dental anxiety.
We went to a recommended pediatric dentist, but I feel like I got conflicting information and have felt nothing but uncomfortable and anxious since seeing him. I was told the abscesses were a serious matter and would need to be pulled -- yet they don't have us scheduled to start until a month from now which is their first available (and it's going to take 4 visits to address all the problems). I was told if there was any swelling of the face, to call -- and then they'd "have to work late". I'm concerned about waiting. Also, during the checkup, in front of my son, the dentist mentioned "it could cause death." It didn't really register until afterwards my son mentioned he was nervous 'cuz of what the dentist said. That really bothers me. I thought pediatric dentists were supposed to be sensitive. I made an appointment for a 2nd opinion with another dentist, but am really second-guessing myself -- I mean, this first dentist is supposed to be the best pediatric dentist in the area. The 2nd opinion dentist is a family dentist.
I know I'm rambling, so here are my questions:
1) has anyone had dental issues like this? What causes it? My son mostly drinks water (no soda, little juice), we try to eat healthy, minimal sugar, brushes his teeth morning and night.
2) is there a standard procedure for treating abscessed teeth?
3) what about leftover infection after pulling the teeth?
4) could the infection in the mouth be a sign of another infection elsewhere in the body?
5) how painful will it be to pull the teeth? Their primary 1st molars and may require spacers afterwards (again something the dentist failed to mention). I've also heard that local anesthesia doesn't usually work 'cuz of swelling and infection.
6) has anyone had hypnotherapy for dental anxiety, lol (no, seriously).
We prefer to do things without synthetic medications and such, but I will do what I need to keep him healthy and safe. I'm making myself crazy with worry and feel guilty as all. I don't want to transmit my anxiety to my son. I just want him to get this overwith and be okay.
I'd really appreciate any feedback. I'm just very nervous.
Saw a second dentist today. My husband came with us this time -- ah, a lovely family affair! This dentist is not pediatric, but family so there's no movies on the ceiling or video games in the waiting area, but both my son and I felt much more comfortable with him. He took the time to address my concerns and to make both me and my son feel comfortable unlike the first pediatric dentist. He went ahead and "popped" the abscesses to allow them to drain so that we would have a better chance with the local anesthesia actually working (apparently it is harder for it to work when the area is swollen and infected...get's in the way), prescribed an antibiotic to help the infection clear up (not crazy about that, but it seems reasonable for the situation), and set an appointment to pull the first 2 teeth next Tuesday. There was a bit of immediate pain when he poked the abscesses, but son is home now and fine. He's kind of like me and resents any sort of pain no matter how slight. We've decided my husband will go in with him during the extractions since he has less anxiety associated with it than I do. I will be waiting in the wings to soothe and comfort once it's all over. Fingers crossed it won't be too bad. The dentist and my husband seem to think he'll be fine with it once it's all said and done. I've come to the realization though that if I'm not comfortable with what's going on, I can always change the situation. And I want to emphasize that to any of you who feel uncomfortable with a doctor, dentist, whatever professional. Don't settle...especially when your health and state of mind is in their hands. Just because they are "great" to one person doesn't mean they'll be great for you. Nor does it mean you're in the wrong for feeling that way. Thanks for all your advice and empathy. Thanks especially for Dentist Hirsch...I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale and we go down every few months...I may look you up!
2nd opinions are always important if you are uncomfortable about anything. Dr. Tim Verwest is who we used in Fort Myers.
People pay money, sometimes, to see the "best" doctors and even the "best" of them make mistakes. Please seek a second opinion.
I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST! I always feel ripped off and just another mouth, but i did find one ( in washington state) just by luck that actually was very nice, gave discounts, free nitrous, and would take the time to make me feel welcomed ) explain procedures l;ike they were talking to a friend. My doc wasn't painfree, i felt the pain from the mouthdam for a few days but he fixed the pain in my one tooth that a previous dentist couldnt after several months of bite adjustments.
Lesson is dont go to the dentist if you arent comfortable with the people -find another
Try 1800dentist
I would definitely get a second opinion and switch dentists. Also, you need to express to the first dentist the reason you are switching...he needs to know to be more sensitive; you should NEVER discuss death in front of a child as a consequence to a dental proceeding. I had a terrible experience with a dentist when I was only about 9 and to this day have neglected going to regular visits. You should have been given a prescription for antibiotics. I am in similar situation now, molar cracked and got infected. I am on antibiotics and then have to have oral surgery soon. Pulling baby teeth is never painful because there are no real roots. Adult teeth can be quite another story. Mine have very long roots and what they call crochet hook ends so they can't just be pulled. I would meet with a pediatric dentist, without your child, and express all of your concerns. In fact, I would get appointments and pretty much interview them all. Go with who you feel the most comfortable with and listens to your concerns. I have to make sure my kids don't pick up on my fears and have dental anxiety too.
If he is in pain, go see the other dentist ASAP. Make sure you consult with him and he can answer all your doubts.
Maybe the anxiety (yours and his) is more than the pain of the procedures. The treatment for infections is mostly preventive. So follow it carefuly.
I too would expect more sensitivity from a pediatric anything.
Choose the one you feel more confortable with. Good luck.
Find a different dentist. We even had a surgery scheduled to remove three of my daugthers abcessed teeth, then my husband (thank goodness) said he didn't feel right about the dentist and we found another one--Dr. Silas McAninch in Sarasota (not sure where you are). He did all the required work, and never had to put my daugther under. He is so soothing to talk to....very calming for the kids. My daughter had problems with almost all of her baby teeth due to weak enamel, and needed to go every other month for almost a full year to take car eof it all....but it was fine, not traumatic, for her. And, by the way, her adult teeth (now all in) are BEAUTIFUL. Dr. Mac uses her as his example that weak baby teeth do not set the stage for poor adult teeth!
Good luck finding a dentist to put both ou and your child at ease!
We go to Setzer & Cochran and they are FANTASTIC!!! They would NEVER make a child in pain wait a month! PLEASE call them and get him in right away!!! Good Luck to you both! :)
Dear A.,
I am afraid that you are listening to the wrong people regarding local anesthesia. We have 2 children and now 4 grandchildren...All have had local anesthesia,extractions,fillings, orthodonture, etc., and no.. there wasn't any major swelling and infection. May I suggest that you find a good Pediodontist ASAP. Baby teeth can be extracted easily (no root system to speak of) and his new permanent teeth are underneath. It could traumatize them if it hurts yes....but why? Talk to your new Pediodontist about your fears, he/she will be happy to answer questions about your aprehensions and about anesthesia. Schedule an appointment just for the consult, take your film and summary from this dentist with you....I would never wait for 2 weeks for an extraction, most especially if it is abscessing! Abscessing usually requires an antibiotic, did he/she recommend it? Maybe your son has a saliva issue that produces too much acidity...lots of things come to mind..check it out, you will be glad you did...
Good luck to you both!
ouch! there are dentists who will do this all at once under a general anesthetic....but i don't remember who does it. You could call Plantation general hospital's operating room and ask for the name of the doctor. It had been awhile for me....I used to work there 10 years ago.
Another option is to call Dr. Frederic Kirsch in Coral springs. He's our pediatric dentist and we have used him for years....the kids actually like to go there and there is no anxiety. It sounds like you are the one with the anxiety!! Please DO NOT transmit this fear to your child. It will only compound the problem and make it harder for him and the dentist as well. In fact, say as little as possible about it until you talk to either Dr. Kirsch, or the dentist who uses anesthesia. They will tell you what to say to your child. Dr Kirsch's # is ###-###-#### (I think).
Three words: Call Dr. Frank Maye!!!
West Boca
worth the effort and trip. He will take care of your son! He puts a lot of emphasis on the psychology behind dentistry and will take away your fears and will avoid at all costs any trauma to your son.He restored my faith in pediatric dentists!! You can be fully involved!
I trust him completely!!!
Do not go back to someone who would speak like that in front of your son ever!!! Dr. Maye will take care of it. My son needed 8, yes eight caps and Dr. Maye did it in one surgery . My son was asleep and had NO trauma. a little pain post surgery and that is it. my two year old hops up in the seat excited to go!! He had a procedure on his front tooth and Dr. Maye took care of that too with no pain, no trauma, I held him while they administered a medication in his nose so he would be groggy, we watched Nemo for 10 minutes in a quiet dark room, while the medicine took affect then I put him in the seat with the Dr. and left. Dr. Maye personally carried my baby back to me after the 15 minute procedure and he was fine, he looked a little drunk, smiling and dazed but perfectly FINE. I think he would be mortified to hear that your dentist discussed this in front of your son much less mentioned he could die! Disgusting and completely ridiculous!!! Please, I urge you to go see him. My older son with the eight caps teeth got so bad because I kept avoiding it. I went to one horrible Dentist after another. and decided what they were suggesting could NOT be the only answer. Dr. Maye was our saviour! Both my kids have been cavity and issue free since starting with him!!!
My neice had this problem. The dentist removed all of her teeth at once when she still had her baby teeth in because of infections, etc... Have him checked to see if he is anemic. They said that is what caused my neices teeth to do this. Once she started on iron drops her teeth came in and she has beautiful adult teeth. She is 32 years old now and no problems with her teeth at all. Did the dentist give him antibiotics? My husband had to take antibiotics for three weeks before they would pull his abcessed teeth out. A friend of mine got poisoned form having her teeth pulled to soon without taking antibiotics before they pulled them. But for sure get a second opinion right away. I never took the first opinion when it came to anything major when they were little. Try the Tooth Caboose in Plant City. They are rated the best dentists in the State of Florida.
Hello, My wife alerted me to this post, I am a pediatric dentist, I practice in Florida. I see you live in Georgia so I can only be of help in a cyber forum. I think you have some issues with your child that can be resolved without all of the fear and anxiety. You have to do a couple of things though to make this happen. First you need to find a dentist that you are comfortable with and your child is comfortable with. This is a time when a couple of physically uncomfortable things are going to happen and trust and a smiling face that exudes confidence and care is paramount. The actual dentistry itself is not that difficult but in order to do the dentistry with the best chance that it is done most correctly the patient needs to be comfortable, not screaming, kicking, agitated. Sometimes Pediatric Dentists use mild sedation to accomplish this sometimes not, it depends on the dentist and the patient and their interactions. I would recommend using sedation if the child is at all fearful or it seems as if the dentistry will be compromised by the behavior of the child. Usually I allow the parents to make that decision, after all the type of care being delivered in 2009 should be patient centered care not doctor centered care, but old habits die hard and many older practitioners believe its their way or the highway, thats another discussion. So first step is find the right dentist for you and your child, step two is to discuss some sort of sedation if child is fearful, I would also discuss using nitrous oxide as a possible tool to reduce the discomfort of the injections. I use a lot of NO2 instead of sedation because if the child is old enough and mature enough to follow some simple directions like close your lips and breathe through your nose only for a few minutes the NO2 can be a nice tool. So you need to find a dentist that you are comfortable with, you need to decide on how to make your child comfortable for a short period of time while a competent dentist performs primary tooth extractions. Ok to answer your questions... Dental caries can be caused by one of two things Bacteria or Severe Dental Erosion of the enamel, essentially they are interrelated but your comment about eating a healthy diet may or may not be true with regard to teeth. I see a lot of patients that are virtually dissolving their teeth with their 'healthy foods" but when I take a culture of their mouth I am not finding the excessive amounts of bad bacteria that I thought. So sometimes it is bacteria that are dissolving your teeth sometimes its just the quantity and quality of the foods, too acidic, that are dissolving teeth. Excessive snacking on "healthy foods" can destroy your teeth just as fast as if you ate cheetos all day long. When we are talking about teeth its more the frequency of eating over the quality of eating. For example I could drink a can of cola in between meals as long as I drank it fast and all at once versus sipping it and my teeth would be in better shape than if I ate a healthy snack of organic raisins out of a ziploc bag while being shuttled around while doing errands for two hours keeping all of that food acid on my teeth. Now our intelligence tells us that organic raisins are far better than cola, and they may be nutritionally, but when it comes to our teeth there are a different set of nutritional rules. Simply put our teeth were designed to eat two maybe three times a day, that was how humans evolved. We were cavemen who ate food, then starved for periods until they could find their next meal. It was when humans became industrialized that they started developing tooth issues. People who are relatively wealthy are the ones with tooth decay. You wont find people in the rainforest of Brazil with tooth issues unless they import modern food. I would love to chat with you about this more if you need to. I have a great protocol for teaching parents how to change the diet to a better dental diet without becoming a food nazi. Your second question was regarding a standard procedure with abscessed teeth. I always remove abscessed teeth, they are a source of infection and somehow we were blesssed with another set of teeth so I say lets move on. The resultant infection will clear up as long as the child is not immunocompromised by some underlying issue. I dont know about infections in the rest of the body relating to infected teeth, but I bet the immune system of any human with dental decay is working overtime and with the flu season coming I think everyones immune system needs to be focused just on that. Local anesthesia is not as effective if there is local infection, the acidity of the infection negates the way the nerve cells absorb local anesthesia, have your child take some antibiotics to reduce local infection, I hate prescribing ab's but in this case it sounds prudent. Pain is a relative term, some kids are rocks and others are not. My best advice is to show your children strength and act that way in front of them. If you are scared they will be scared, if you are scared act like you are NOT!!! Children mimic us PERIOD!!!
Hypnotherapy dont know anything about, but I do believe in breathing correctly and talking softly, those two things might be hypnotherapy but I dont call them that. Breathing from the diaphragm is an important technique that all people should learn to do daily. I think death from dental disease is possible but not likely as long as you are responsible and take care of this issue in the next weeks. There was a case a year or two back with a child dying from dental disease but to call out this person that told you this my response would be that there are more deaths from dentists treating patients incorrectly than from deaths from the underlying dental disease, THAT IS FACT!!! IT IS VERY RARE TO DIE FROM DENTAL DISEASE, dont fear the situation, you will get through this!!! I hope this helps. If you need anymore information post here and my wife will direct me. 1) take some antibiotics 2) find a competant dentist that you trust 3) remove the abscessed teeth 4) figure out why this is happening along with the dentist..there is a reason it just may not be obvious 5) be patient with dental disease it takes months/years to overcome the cause of it but it is possible to change the etiology 6) move on from this episode...it happens..just dont let it happen again!!! Jason Hirsch DMD MPH
Hi A., I have gone is circles with pediatric dentists. Please don't make the mistakes I have. I was uncomfortable with the fist one we went to for several reasons, but I figured she was a professional so I stuck with it. That was the worst decision I ever made! She terrified my son so badly it took him to months to get over it. I finally found a wonderful dentists. She is great with kids, and works with them to get them comfortable with what ever they need done. Her name is Robyn Lesser. The phone # is ###-###-####. I will never go any were else. I hope this helps. J.
1st NEVER see that dentist again- what an idiot- saying that infront of your son- and tell your son what an idiot the dentist is.
2nd handled the infection- go talk to a Chiropractor who does nutrition, or a Certified nutritionist, get that done right away
3rd a good nutritionist can put you son on the nutrients necessary for good teeth, and check out-a)WestonPriceFoundation
b)Dr, Bruce West
they both well tell you how to handle this
and did I say stay way from that dentist- I wouldn't let him within a mile of my kids-
and you know it is not true and he knows it too or he would not sch him in a month- don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how flawed that logic is!!!
And well done to you for asking the right questions
(oh yes and hypnotherapy will make it worse- I have seen that) getting all the information is what will put your mind at ease.
Really- check these references. You can hanlde this !!
k
i don't know the dentist you went to, but try Duga and associates on bruce b downs. they are very good with children and will ease your anxiety as well as your childs. good luck!
Get a second opinion ASAP. There are plenty of dentists who give free second opinions. Get copies if you xrays. If you dont feel comfortable there find someone else. Your son needs alot of work you dont want him to feel anxious. Usually a antibiotic is given to reduce the infection before the extractions or root canal treatment. Are these baby teeth or adult? Adult teeth can have root canal treatment to save the teeth if there is enough tooth structure left. Reduce his sugar intake and get him gum, candies with Xylitol in them. Xylitol is a natural sweetner that reduces the bacteria that causes cavities. I hope this helps. Im a dental hygiensit.
My kids love going to their dentist. Everyone there is super nice. Any time my oldest (5) neds to see the doctor, he asks to see Dr. Donald -- I have to remind him that Dr. Donald is the dentist, and not his doctor for everything. We have never seen Dr. King as a patient, but he's very nice too and always stopped by and said "Hi"
http://www.pediatricdentistorlando.com/
Good luck!
I can't help you with the dental stuff (sorry), but if you have even the slightest doupt, go with your gut and get a second opinion. I would be nervous too and would want to hear what someone else has to say. Just try not to freak your son out, keep the anxiety between your friends, husband and us. Good Luck!!!
My 7 year old had to have an abscessed tooth pulled. He was seeing my family dentist but he referred us to a pediatric dentist because they are better at handling procedures such as that with children. I would suggest that you see a different pediatric dentist- mine was in the palm harbor area- Dr. Johnny Johnson, and we had a great experience. My son was unaware that the tooth was getting pulled. The dentist and staff never mentioned that word because that can seem scary to most kids. He knew that they had to "fix it and put medicine in it". They numbed him with novocaine and laughing gas and he did not even know that the tooth was pulled until after the dentist showed it to him. He didn't complain of any pain afterward. He was on antibiotics for a week afterward to clear up the infection, which I think is standard. He did have to have a spacer afterward which the staff was also wonderful about- that was not painful at all according to my son and I don't think he needed any local anesthetic for that. I was stressed out about the whole situation as well but honestly when the day came it was not a big deal. You just have to find a dentist that you and your son are comfortable with.
I can only speak from experience about the cause of the problems with his teeth. My son is four, and just had to have 8 cavities filled. i asked our dentist about it, and he said in some cases, no matter what they eat, or how well they brush, some children have an inbalnce in the enzymes of the teeth that can cause decay. The infections are probably in teeth that have had decay for a while and you didn't know. His work was done at Florida Hospital, under general anesthesia and they did it al at once. My niece has the sameproblem, but her dentist is giving sedation in the office and splitting into to visits. I would definitely seek another opinion. Obviously the damage is done, but the dentist doesn't seem concerned about the patients comfort or understanding of the procedure.
Please by all means run to that second opinion! If you are not comfortable and secure that your child is being taken care of correctly and certainly you did not get your questions answered by this professional you have got to follow your instincts! My daughter when she was in 6th grade went to a highly recommended dentist they tried to fill a cavity and she kept saying that it hurt after a few minutes the dentist said she needed a root canal so off we went to the specialist and she had her root canal. She had another cavity so we went back to the dentist once again she would say that the drilling hurt and the dentist tells me that this tooth now needs a root canal! Needless to say bells went off in my head (just like they did in yours). We took her for the second opinion and she still has the tooth and this dentist knows that it takes a lot of novacane and TIME for her to get numb. I am so greatful for our dentist, she saved my child from dental torture!
Please seek a second opinion!
A mothers intuition is usually right! Don't doubt yourself. It may not mean the man is a bad dentist, but not a good match for you and your son. A second opinion is ALWAYS a good idea with anything you are concerned about and a good dentist or doctor should be glad you are going for a second opinion. A child that young should feel comfortable with what is going on. The fact that he felt so anxious means he is not comfortable with the dentist or staff which is super important. Just go with your instinct! Good Luck!
do you live in a city where they put flouride in the water, because it is bad for human consumption, even though most cities put it in the water, supposedly for our teeth. Research it. one thing it does is CAUSE cavities, ironically!
