• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Baby tooth cavity broken to the gum line.

T

Tomtom willowby

Junior member
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
2
Location
Usa
Hello, I appreciate any advice thank you. As I have been reading here about cavities that are decayed right to the gum and how it’s much easier for the dentist to pull more so than a healthy tooth...one question is about a baby tooth on a 5 year old. Very large cavity and on the inside of the tooth it has chipped away leaving just a little bit of the tooth left on the other side. How will the dentist ever grip this tooth? Will he need to have the gum cut to get somewhat of a grip on it? Next question is , is a local safe for a 5 year old? Most children are more nervous about dentists than adults. Wondering if the new tooth will push out this one. Is that a possibility? What are the options to go about this extraction in a safe way? Gas ? Local? Seems like this can be a very traumatic experience for such a young child. I’m here just to talk with someone and to be more educated on this. Thanks
 
Same way as we'd extract an adult tooth. There won't be any need to cut the gum.

Yes, local is perfectly safe. The new tooth will come through fine, but not for a while yet if it's a 5 year old.

If it's that badly decayed then it may well be OK to just leave in place until the child is a bit older at least.

Usually the best way to manage an extraction at this age is with some inhalation sedation (nitrous oxide) and local, so long as the parents and older siblings/grandparents haven't managed to terrify the child too much then most children will do fine with this.

What's far more important is getting a hold on the decay process to prevent the rest of the teeth going the same way, that much decay in a 5 year old is a bit concerning. Have a read at the how to prevent cavities pages on here.
 
Same way as we'd extract an adult tooth. There won't be any need to cut the gum.

Yes, local is perfectly safe. The new tooth will come through fine, but not for a while yet if it's a 5 year old.

If it's that badly decayed then it may well be OK to just leave in place until the child is a bit older at least.

Usually the best way to manage an extraction at this age is with some inhalation sedation (nitrous oxide) and local, so long as the parents and older siblings/grandparents haven't managed to terrify the child too much then most children will do fine with this.

What's far more important is getting a hold on the decay process to prevent the rest of the teeth going the same way, that much decay in a 5 year old is a bit concerning. Have a read at the how to prevent cavities pages on here.
Hello! Thank you so much for replying. I will read what you have sent. Still might have some questions... the child is in excellent overall health with a diet of vegetables and fruits meats etc . Took over brushing day and night when started to notice cavities. Hardly any sweets and when the child has any sweets brushes immediately after . Watched a tiny tiny cavity turn into a large one . Using all natural things like sage rinse turmeric clove oil pulling which is hard for a 5 year old but it gets done as well as peroxide and salt rinse after meals. Is it possible it is just his body or maybe hereditary? His sibling seems to have stronger teeth. He did eat a lot of tomatoes and oranges when younger. The acids maybe contributed to it maybe?The idea of waiting until he is a bit older is an option since there is hardly any pain or swelling or complaints and eats just fine. Yet don’t want this to turn into an emergency. Hesitant about a local because I think you are not able to eat anything for a while and it just seems risky for a small child..What will the gas do? Just calm him but he will be awake? There is also enamel loss on the front teeth. I had my wisdom teeth taken out ... it was like 3 mins no big deal...just with Novocain.. but to make a child understand this is hard. Where I live it is hard to find a holistic dentist who will have a down to earth approach. I appreciate all the feedback you have . I have tried to get in touch with a near by dentist to ask all these questions but i have been told they are extremely busy at this time and they never got back to me. All I would like to do I talk and ask all these questions before making any decisions.
 
It's not the amount of carbohydrate in the diet (sweets, fruit, pasta etc, the bacteria don't care!) it's the frequency of it. Brushing teeth immediately after food doesn't do much for decay but can be slightly harmful if done after an acid food like an apple or orange.

Is there any Fluoride in your water supply? If not then consider Fluoride supplements (as well as the toothpaste obviously)

You're perfectly able to eat after local, just have to be careful not to chew on the soft tissues instead, most kids can wait an hour or so till the local wears off. Yes, the gas is a sedative, so he'd be awake but calmer.
There's no point in oil pulling, peroxide and salt rinses.
 
Back
Top