concerned about dentists advice on my 7yr old grandson treatment

[jacobjacob7]

My grandson has just moved house and new Dentist .
On his first visit the dentist has said he will need 3 extractions under an anasetic , one tooth has been filled 3 times previously at his last dentist, that one i can accept needs to be removed as it is causing pain .
The other 2 teeth are not causing any pain, but do look discolored , which i imagine means decay underneath.
My concern is , they did not take an x-ray , and i thought that they would try to save his teeth for as long as possible by filling them .
I think they are the pre molar teeth , on the bottom of the jaw at either side .
could you please advise

 

[comfortdentist]

You are right to be concerned. It is possible that the first appointment was limited in scope. At 7 with a history of caries he should have x-rays if at all possible and all the caries needs to be treated.
The real question is why does he have caries? Diet!

 

[oscar1658]

Ive had a big filling done. Its literally the full bottom surface filled, they took an xray to make sure first....i think its alittle fast to say it needs to be pulled considering the size of mine (2009 i got it) its still very sensitive but its still working! Get another dentists view or?

 

[sincitysoul]

The discoloration doesn't necessarily mean that there is decay underneath. If he eats a lot of "dark" foods (things like pizza sauce, etc.) or drinks a lot of dark soda (pepsi, coke, etc.), it could be as simple as those teeth being discolored.

I don't understand how they reached the conclusion of pulling the teeth without taking an x-ray. If I were your grandson's parent (or if I were you, should you be the one with custody), I would pursue a second and/or third opinion.

 

[decan]

At 7, it is unlikely that those are his premolars but rather is primary and secondary molars (baby teeth). I agree with comfortdentist. An X-ray should be done to determine the extent of the decay before just pulling them. It's possible pulpotomies and stainless steel crowns can be done to save them. On the other hand, if there is so much decay that the teeth look black and very little tooth structure would remain after taking the decay out, extraction may be the best option. A second opinion never hurts.