Dental Work Now on a Child Worth It in the Long Run?

Yes, she needs it done now b/c the decay will impact her adult teeth coming in. Not to mention pain and blood infections that can stem from untreated cavities and tooth decay. Some people are born with very thin enamel and such, that make them more susceptible to problems like this. My kids are not like this, but my nephews are and they are always at the dentist. Has the dentist suggested sealants on their teeth? It could help.

I was the opposite though. I had plenty of dental work as a kid due to braces/retainers/overcrowding... but never had a cavity or those kinds of tooth decay problems. Once I hit my 20's I get cavities all the time, I have I think 6 filling now and two cavities that need filings. Odd, I have very good dental hygiene but keep getting cavities even though they were never a problem before.

Decay or damage to baby teeth can permanently damage the adult teeth.

if you dont take care of her baby teeth then yes, it can rot out her permanent teeth or cause them to have major issues. good teeth helps to keep you healthy in many aspects of your life.

When I was a child, my parents did the basic dental cleaning and fillings, but NO orthodontal work. I badly needed it, but my parents always told me that it wasn't that bad...truth being that they didn't want the cost. Granted money was tight, but I sure wish they would have found a way. Can you guess what I am most self-conscious about as an adult? Yeah...that's right my teeth. I have a bite issue that is pretty bad. Now as an adult, I can't even imagine the cost, time, and pain it would take to do something about it...if I even could. I am just paranoid about my children's teeth. If they need braces or whatever, I WILL find a way to do it.

Some people are more genetically prone to cavities than others. If your daughter is one of those, then yeah, it's best to keep on top of her dental issues while she is still young. As her adult teeth come in, you should look into having fluoride sealant treatments done on them - there's a procedure they can do to "seal" the adult teeth so they will be less prone to cavities. It's a little pricey but if you just do a few at a time as they come in, it wouldn't be too bad.

As far as spacers, yeah, according to our orthodontist, doing this at ages 6-7 can save you a lot of heartache later. I didn't realize it when my older daughter was that young that I should already have her going to the orthodontist. We missed that critical window of time when they could have expanded her palate and her adult teeth might have even grown in straight! Oh well. Now we have to wait until more of her adult teeth grow in, and do all kinds of crazy and expensive orthodontics. He said she'll be in braces for ~3 years. :( The more you can do while they're young, the better, I guess!

My daughter didn't have enough room in her mouth for all of her teeth, so I went the road of having baby teeth pulled and then 4 permanent teeth pulled when she was 10 and 11. She is now 14 and her teeth are amazingly straight! I am very happy with doing it younger. It was traumatic, but quicker and now she won't even need braces which can be an equally and longer lasting trauma!!!

We NEVER compromise on health or safety. Priority #1

My mom "believed" I didn't need dental work so she put it off until I had to do it myself, selfish mom.

I would never disregard a dental recommendation ( get another reference) for the sake of saving money. Think about your child, their mouth, the daily function they NEED.

Would you forgo dentistry if you needed it, including ortho and cosmetic??

I feel your pain, both from my own experience and now my kids. I was a dental hygiene freak on my children when they were little. From brushing their teeth for them, teaching them how, then checking each of them after they had done it. 2 of my children (now 12 & 14) have NO fillings - yeah! 1 had a front tooth pulled due to damage at 2 yrs old, no spacer needed the dentist told me. My middle daughter had a stainless steel cap on 1 of her back teeth at age 3 because it was decaying. Then the dentist decided that she needed another on the top last year (at 12). But both my daughters have "super numary teeth" in the front of their mouths. Unfortunately their insurance will not pay for orthodontic work as they say it is not essential. Go figure. I am now a single parent and cannot afford $10,000.00 of dental work and feed 3 teenagers. So to the Moms that say "find a way" you have not walked in my shoes. Plus I have 1 starting to drive in March.
I have done as much as I can with my childrens teeth, I thought that it was all a bit much on baby teeth that are going to fall out anyway but times change and techniques change. The 1 thing that my girls have complained about is bullying at school. They get picked on because they only have 1 front tooth each. My oldest deals with it pretty well, she takes no prisoners!
I have asked their Dad to look into getting them insurance through his work but open enrollment is not until April 2012. Sorry I ranted some, money dictates our level of involvement in dentistry but I would have it done if I could. How does your daughter tolerate dentistry in general - if it is overly traumatic for her then you might want as much done in 1 visit as possible under sedation. Good luck. M. F

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I would suggest that for sanity sake, get a second opinion on the work. I've heard of dental practices in Tampa that will take advantage of you. That being said, I believe that it is important to fix the issues now. My son had braces on his teeth last year at age 9 and will likely have them again when all the permanent teeth are in. It made a huge difference with his bite (overbite and deepbite) and his permanent teeth were kind of pushed in (sounds strange with an overbite, but it's true).

I just want to suggest for the adults on here who discussed their own dental issues to look into it for yourself. I wore braces at age 25. I had a dental plan that paid a good percentage (like 50%) and I put the money aside in my flexible/medical spending account so it was taken pre-tax out of my paycheck each month that year. I only wore them for a year, but it took care of some alignment and a slightly twisted front tooth that I had. I probably paid $500. It was worth it.

I also have bad/weak enamel. Most all of my back teeth had to have fillings when I was younger. Now as an adult I have to have root canals on almost all of those teeth. It seems like the fillings were a waste and any dentist will tell you, just a temporary solution, BUT if my children have teeth issues (so far so good) I will get the fillings too.
I was just at the dentist yesterday and most all of my teeth have crowns or some sort of filling. Good luck! Just think, when she's an adult, she'll have to pay for it, not you :) hehe