My 2 Year Old Needs Silver Caps on Her Teeth, Should We Put Her Through That?

My daughter went through the same ordeal at 3,she is now 11 and they have all left along with her baby teeth. I suggest it be done because the cavaties will grow onto the others and it will be worse on her later.N.

I would not worry too much about the anesthetic procedure as I would about the materials they're planning on using for the dental work. My younger son had to be knocked out for early dental work and he had no issues with the anesthetic part, but the "silver" materials they used contain mercury, which is toxic. Here's a summary of the scientific literature documenting that:
http://www.toxicteeth.org/Fact%20Sheet2006.pdf

If your dentist says that it is safe because the ADA says it is, I would suggest you find another dentist. Other materials are more costly and harder to work with, but they're well worth the cost and effort.

I'm speaking from experience as we made a huge mistake and let them put "silver" fillings and caps in both my sons as they too had lots of problems when they were young due to lack of enamel on their baby teeth. I did not learn about the hazards of the mercury until several years later when we all started having health issues. My younger son and I both had toxic levels of mercury in our bodies.

More importantly, the problems with their not having enamel on their baby teeth was due to my having celiac disease and thus nutritional deficiencies while I was pregnant with them. Celiac disease is genetic and it's an intolerance to the gluten found in wheat, rye, oats and barley. So, both you and your daughter should be tested for celiac disease. Here's a journal article on this topic in case either the dentist or pediatrician doubts this suggestion:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2...

Be well,
M. B

My parents put silver caps on my teeth when I was about 8 years old and I now have a compromised immune system at age 26. Your Micro Flora is a healthy community of intestinal bacteria that becomes the core of your immunity later in life.
Silver is a natural antibiotic. MicroFlora aka the forgotten organ is killed off by antibiotics. Lesson is do not over use antibiotics and freely through sterilizing agents down your throat. If your Micro Flora is compromised it makes you more vulnerable. If you do use antibiotics best advice is to make sure to add back by eating No Sugar - Live culture yogurt alone as a meal.

Keep in mind that Dentistry is a business. They are not like Doctors, that give treatment needed for your health. I am not saying that your daughter does not need the work done, however, I have also ALMOST been taked to the cleaners by a dentist. They are like car repair men. You know, you go in for a cleaning and walk out with an estimate of thousands of dollars of work that needs to be done. Just like you go in for an oil change and leave with a list of things that are on the verge of breaking.....yea right. Anyway, if I were you, I would ask around for a dentist that someone really trusts. I have one but he is in Richardson. I know that is a bit of a drive for you, however, I know that he would only recommend work that would HAVE to be done. Let me know if you want the info.

My daughter had a cavity when she was 2 and i was reluctent to put the silver cap on, my dentist bonded her tooth. It was the same color of her tooth so no silver caps. I am not sure if it is an option for your daughter. They did not have to put my daughter under though. Good luck!

My son had is done when he was 3, he has 4 capped and plus he had to get his front tooth fixed (he hit it and made his tooth discolored). The only problem was that the medicine that give him to help put him under made him seem like he was drunk and like a helpless infant. Then when he was done he still had his IV in and he did NOT like it but they wouldnt take it out until he drank something (considering he had to be there at 8am with no breakfast or drink except water). He threw a major fit since it was in his arm. The first dentist he went to didnt even look at his teeth and told me that all of them needed to be capped so I got a 2nd opinion and he only needed a few capped. At first, the caps will hurt but will go away. He calls them his "robot teeth." But if this is taken care of it will get worse. I was very nervous when he was going through this but then now his mouth looks better. His insurance paid for all of it. He is 4 now. If you want go ahead and get a 2nd opinion and compare the two and decide what you want to do.

hi, i am currently in the same situation......my daughter is 2yrs old and went to the dentist for the first time a week ago.....and they notice several decayed teeth. They referred her to pediactric dentist, where we go tomorrow. I am very nervous and DONOT want silver caps all over her mouth. can you please forward me your pediactric dentist....thank you

Check around, because some children's dentist offer natural looking caps now. My friend had her son's teeth done that way and you can't even tell they are caps.

I would find out if the silver caps have mercury or any other metal in them, and if they do, I would absolutely not do that. Find out of any other alternatives.
We've had to put both of our boys under anesthesia before for different things when they're young, and even though it's scary, as long as you're at a good hospital she should be fine. That just seems extreme for baby teeth. Good luck- and let us know how it turns out!

The cavities can cause further damage if it's not taken care of. I would get a second opinion, but I'd also want to investigate why a child so young has teeth that are in such bad shape. Does she have some sort of chronic illness or nutritional deficiency (like celiac disease)? Does she eat a lot of sugary foods and drinks?

When my son was 2 he underwent anesthesia for dental work. I would say that yes your daughter should get the caps. Those cavities can get worse and cause damage to the nerve. My son has a silver cap on one of his molars. My other suggestion is that once her permanent molars come in get them sealed by your dentist. Our insurance company covers it but even if they didn't I'd still have it done and pay out of pocket for it.

I hope you get some good advice.

I did not have your problem, but my daughter had bad teeth and had MANY cavities filled starting at age 5. Her teeth were horribly crowded (since then she's had 5 pulled, some of them were permanent... she's 13 now)and she was a big juice drinker, which together with the crowding really didn't help the growth of cavities.

We did have sealant put on all her teeth except the front after the first round of cavities. You may want to do the same.

I would get a 2nd oppinion.... don't know what dentist you went to but we used to go to Dental Care 4 Kids in Flower Mound and they were wonderful.

if your child has cavities they definately need to be taken care of because if they get really bad then it can lead major infection which can get into her whole body. however you do not have to use silver caps, this is just the cheapest way to go. i used to work for a dental lab & we made crowns & bridges & have done lots of work for kids. ask your dentist about alternatives for silver caps, but keep in mind they will be more costly. also many labs offer more than one kind of silver that may not have such a high mercury content as the cheapest. the only thing i would worry about it allergies to the metal, if there are none & you are only concerned with how the silver caps will look keep in mind that they are baby teeth you are repairing & you may not want to spend that much for only a few years until adult teeth come in.

I am about to have that operation done on my daughter who won't be 2 until may 1st... I was a bit apprehensive about getting it done but had an adult dentist that is a friend of mine to take a peak at her and he felt that she should get them too. My biggest problem was getting her off milk at night and that's what got her teeth so bad. she has cavities in her top teeth and they can do those with white fillings and and white fillings on the bottom but they said they don't do white caps only silver caps for the bottom. made me sad because it's only her two middle bottom teeth that need it... i didn't know much about the mercury i think i believe she said it didn't have any but i'll have to double check on that and do some more research. it was reassuring to see this post and all the responses included... i have a feeling i will cry when they take her from me monday morning... =*(

what is the dentists name i noticed you are in hurst we take my grandson to one in fort worth he already put 7 silver caps on now he wants to do more my grandson brushes his teeth 2 times a day and we have cut out alot of the sugar intake i don't know if the dentist is silver teeth happy or what but we really need a second opinion please send a response

My 5 year old needed a tooth extracted and baby root canal and a cavity to be capped. dentist wanted to do one at a time. We did take her for a 2nd opinion and the diagnosis was correct. They suggested doing it at the hospital under completely just to get it all done at the same time. Thus the child would not have bad experiences at the dentist. We took this option, she needed a physical first . She had the procedure. missed one day of kindergarten. Hardly any pain at all.