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Asking a question ive been scared to ask

Mary

Mary

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
549
Location
California
OK here it goes.My hole family suffers from bad teeth...not because we don't brush cause we do.I have a 3 year old whos 2 front teeth are decayed(she had all her baby teeth at 8 months)I have taken her to the dentist(2 actually)One want's to charge an arm an leg for something called"spacers"and the 2nd dentist says they will be coming out soon and to just let the adult teeth come in and push the baby teeth out.I tend to agree with the second dentist(and money is a big issue...don't have any)Also I don't want to tramatize my baby.:hidesbehindsofa:

will it be ok to let the adult teeth come in without pulling the baby teeth and using "spacers"(have no clue what that is)?
I feel so much better asking that.
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

If the permanent teeth are coming out soon then it might not be a problem to skip the spacer. The two upper central incisors usually come out at about age 6, but your child might get them earlier. Some kids have to have their front baby teeth taken out quite early, but eventually the adult ones do erupt sooner or later. They seem to adapt just fine without the front baby teeth.
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

hi
Well the dentist who told you about the spacer thing is not giving you a bad advice ! Your child is 3 years old and the permanent central incisors usually erupt around 6 years of age.Did the dentists advice you to get the x ray done of these two concerned teeth? It will give a fair amount of idea as to when the permanent ones are likely to replace the temporary ones.It's not uncommon for the permanent incisors to erupt at a later age.In that case ,we usually advice the patients to go for extraction of the temporary teeth,if they are not restorable and after that we give them a removable appliance (spacer ) to wear over that area until the permanent ones erupt.Otherwise the adjacent teeth might drift forward blocking the eruptive pathway of the permanent ones.It's preferrable to pull out these teeth as they might become a source of infection to the permanent teeth that just lie below the milk teeth.
So,in my opininon ,the first dentist whom you went to was giving you a precise advice!
I hope this helps!:)
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

Thank u...I appreciate the feed back...how hard is the pulling of the baby teeth.What are spacers ? I am not real comfortable with them restraing her in that contraption.I like the dentist that says to let the permanant teeth push the temporarys out.I don't want to tramatize her unless I have too.
What are all my options?Thank u everyone for your help.

Mary:hidesbehindsofa:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

My hole family suffers from bad teeth...not because we don't brush cause we do.

Hi Mary,
contrary to popular opinion, brushing is a less important factor than diet when it comes to tooth decay. Sugar in the diet is the cause of tooth decay, especially when eaten between meals. This includes drinks - safe alternatives are milk and water. You can find more information here:


Hopefully, this will help prevent problems for your child in the future :)!
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

If I were you, I would consider heavily the spacers. She's only 3.. Mine didn't get her front adult teeth till last summer - just before 7. It's really possible that losing her primaries can make the adults' come in misaligned = that's why the dentist recommends the spacers now == to eliminate potential need for braces as a teen.....

It's likely NOT nearly as traumatizing for a 3 year old as anyone would think it to be == I know in S. Arizona the standard of practice for a LOT of our pediatric dentists is nitrous from the get go on nearly all appointments. The ped dentists I've dealt with will always instruct a child how to breathe in the nitrous, and work with them so they aren't frightened. My son (now 22) when he was 5 had a LOT of work to do, over the course of 3 visits. He had NO problems then, and no residual problems now. And that was 15 years ago - things surely have improved even in that short time frame.

:grouphug:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

Hi Mary,
contrary to popular opinion, brushing is a less important factor than diet when it comes to tooth decay. Sugar in the diet is the cause of tooth decay, especially when eaten between meals. This includes drinks -
Uhoh....I'm screwed:devilish::censored:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

LOL...I am screwed too...and actually my kids eat really pretty well and don't drink many sugary drinks.Everyone on my side of the famil have bad teeth and the kids dad have bad teeth and his family so...who knows.:o
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

I think it depends how decayed the two front teeth are. Most children seem to go around at some point with their two front teeth missing whilst waiting for the adult ones to come through...hence the song: 'All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth' etc etc

I strongly agree with not traumatising your child unnecessarily...the restraint 'papoose board' you refer to, is not used in Europe....I think I'd go with the second dentist (especially as you have cost constraints) provided he is monitoring the teeth regularly and feels there is a good chance a toothache won't result before nature takes it's course. If your child experiences any toothaches though you would need to get immediate care and extraction would then be necessary.

So again how decayed are the teeth...if only a small filling would be needed - why isn't that also an option? If you waited till your child turns 4, it is more likely that she would cooperate with a sympathetic dentist with painfree techniques and the restraint you mentioned would not be required.

Was the second dentist a pediatric dentist? They will always tend to be more pro-intervention with young kids than General Dentists which sometimes is a positive, sometimes not. Equally General Dentists can be woefully lax and leave severely decaying teeth in kids' mouths for fear of upsetting them. As Dentistgirl said, letting a tooth become infected is most certainly not a good idea.
At age 4, one of my kids had a decayed tooth (before any pain was involved) extracted with just lots of TLC, numbing cream and local anaesthetic and he was not traumatised by the experience. Best of luck.
:grouphug:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

I know in S. Arizona the standard of practice for a LOT of our pediatric dentists is nitrous from the get go on nearly all appointments. The ped dentists I've dealt with will always instruct a child how to breathe in the nitrous, and work with them so they aren't frightened. My son (now 22) when he was 5 had a LOT of work to do, over the course of 3 visits. He had NO problems then, and no residual problems now. And that was 15 years ago - things surely have improved even in that short time frame.

:grouphug:

I find this concept quite scary - it certainly helps explain the enthusiasm some younger posters on here have for nitrous :) - so anyone in SArizona aged below 22 potentially associates going to the dentist with being high as a kite...does nobody chat to their patients anymore?
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

I find this concept quite scary - it certainly helps explain the enthusiasm some younger posters on here have for nitrous :) - so anyone in SArizona aged below 22 potentially associates going to the dentist with being high as a kite...does nobody chat to their patients anymore?

weeeeellllll... he had to have 5 pulpectomies = again not due to hygiene but due to a very naive mom who didn't know what "bottle rot" could be.. The DR that I was recommended did have a standard of nitrous for the bigger appointments - not so cleanings and simple fillings.. But with Alan needing so much work, and it being his initial appointment, we all felt nitrous would be better....

really sorry if I came off as every appointment is getting gassed.. :censored:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

Her 2 front teeth are beyond fillings and the dentist is a pediatric dentist(the one who said I diden't have to pull them)My baby has never complained of any kind of pain in her mouth...they don't bother her at all..if they did I would take her emmidiatly.I really do agree with the second dentist....why tramatize her when she will be loosing them soon.Hey Brit thank u for your opinion...it means alot to me.:XXLhug:
 
Re: Asking a question ive been scarde to ask

Her 2 front teeth are beyond fillings and the dentist is a pediatric dentist(the one who said I diden't have to pull them)My baby has never complained of any kind of pain in her mouth...they don't bother her at all..if they did I would take her emmidiatly.I really do agree with the second dentist....why tramatize her when she will be loosing them soon.Hey Brit thank u for your opinion...it means alot to me.:XXLhug:

Given the second one was a pediatric dentist - you can feel even surer it was appropriate advice given its 'wait and see' nature. Also if she did have toothache , a ped dentist could arguably be better equipt to handle it and have sedation options if required...the older she is, the less likely it is that this would be needed.

I think you have made the right decision :grouphug:.
 
Baby Teeth

I have a question...my 3 year old has 3 deacayed teeth in the front ...my qestion is how hard is it to pull the baby teeth? Is it tramatic like pulling permanat teeth?Can they get dry sockets like adults?
 
Re: Baby Teeth

I have had baby teeth and permanent pulled, around 4 baby and one or two permanent...cant remember the exact number;) One thing I do remember is that baby teeth come out alot faster and easier.
 
Re: Baby Teeth

Thank you :XXLhug:
I have one more qestion...Is is absolutly nessesary to get the teeth pulled???(They are pretty decayed)...Her gums aren't red or swollen...she has never once complained about them...she is so afraid of doctors and dentists?
 
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Re: Baby Teeth

this is a parent's opinion, not a med professional opinion == I would restore the baby teeth as much as possible and allow them to come out naturally.. Once adult teeth begin to come in, the baby teeth are "place holders" for them - if the baby teeth aren't there, the adult teeth may not come in correctly, and braces would be needed later...

but again - this is a parent's opinion. I did get my son's teeth restored as a 5-6 year old = pulpectomies (child equivalent of root canal)... This kept his teeth straight when the adults came in....
 
Re: Baby Teeth

That is actually how I feel.I have taken her to a dentist who said"ys they are decayed we could pull them or let nature take its course"I was worried about the adult teeth being messed and she said alot of times that doesen't happen and if it does they will be fixable and she will be older and probably more capeable of handling it"
My daughter just turned 3 and has never complained of any tooth pain(and they are in bad shape)More opinions are greatly appriciated.
 
Re: Baby Teeth

If the teeth are abscessed, it's best to have them taken out. If they aren't and have repairable cavities, sometimes you can either have them filled / pulpotomied and / or have stainless steel crowns placed. For a three year old that's very nervous, a trip to the pediatric dentist might be in order. It's usually best not to leave abscessed baby teeth in place even though they might not be bothering the child.

For example, in this photo, the incisors look to be pretty far gone to be restored:

[broken image removed]

Baby teeth in general are usually fairly easy to remove. The difficult part comes in whether the child is willing or able to cooperate so sometimes these can be general anesthetic cases. Your dentist or pediatric dentist would be able to tell you better about that.
 
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