Teenager with dental problems...help

[kimmyann]

I have a 15 year old daughter that has had many dental problems. It started when she was three with a cavity and it has never stopped. She has always gotten cavities and still does, but it is only on her top front teeth(6). She has no problems with her molars or bottom teeth. She also has alot of discoleration (white spots, brown spots), again only front teeth. She has already had braces (her front teeth grew in extremely crooked. Even her orthodontist remarked that he has never seen someone get cavities in the places that she does.(front of teeth and bottom). She brushes her teeth 3 times a day and has seen numerous dentists, but not anyone can give a clear explanation of why her teeth are this way. They onlly say that she must not be brushing and flossing.

She also has a terrible fear of the dentist. It has been a year since she has been, but she is bigger than I am so I can't exactly force her. She refuses to go and does not care anymore what happens to her teeth. I think she is just simply fed up with going and the dentist only saying that she must be lying about what she does(brushing & flossing). I guess my questions are, could there possibly be a medical issue that could cause teeth problems? How can you get a teenager to go to the dentist? I can take everything away, punish her, but she doesn't care as long as she doesn't have to go. She just crys and refuses, I know that it reallly is a fear she has, but her last visits have been fine and uneventful. She did have some bad experiences when she was very young when she had to get caps. Any help would be great, thank you.

 

[Issy]

Have u tried sitting down with her & letting her explain what she's worried/scared about ?
Maybe finding a Dentist who treats children / Teenagers may help.
I wouldn't force her to go,because that may increase her fear  

 

[roseyrose]

hi kimmyann

just a though, did your daughter have to take alot of syrupy medications as a child? i had something similar with my son when he was very young, he had terrible problems with repeated ear infections, almost on a monthly basis. this required lots of anti biotics, liquid and sugary. he ended uo with terrible upper front teeth and we didnt realise it was because of the medication he was taking all the time, the dentist seemed to blame bad parenting and thought we had fed him juice from a baby bottle!! it was only after much thought and a discussion with the GP and dentist it was discovered the medications he was on could be to blame. after this it was on his medical records to give him sugar free medication at all times, the result is his adult teeth are perfect now, but he was lucky we found out what caused it, as being i dental phobic myself i was almost paranoid about his oral health and made it a normal part of his day to ensure he done it.

just a thought anyway........

good luck!
Rosey

 

[freakout]

Hi Kimmyann...there are many things that can contribute to cavities, such as sodas or acidic type drinks and foods. You may want to asks the dentists on our board about the types of foods your daughter should avoid, under the dentistry questions answered section.

I agree you should not force your daughter to go to the dentist, however, you may want to have her visit our site. Many of us over time have found the dentists have changed and wished we would have taken care of our teeth long ago. The most important thing is to find a caring and compassionate dentist. They are out there and will do everything to help her through her troubles.

Many people think I will just avoid the dentist, or remove all of the teeth and get denture...no more dentists, but take it from me that can be much worse in the long run and it doesn't mean an end to dentist visits.

Have your daughter visit the site and I am sure she will see she is not alone in her fears. We have all been where she is and the fear can be overwhelming, but it is really helpful once you can see you are not alone in this fear and others have made it through.

Hope this helps

 

[kimmyann]

Thanks everyone.  I am cancelling her appt for tomorrow and she has agreed to go in one month.  (this appt was kinda sudden).  She never has taken alot of meds and she does drink alot of water.  I also never allowed her to drink much juice because dentists in the past told me that fruit juices have lots of sugar.  I know that her fears come from when she was little and the major amount of dental work that was done.  She also had a bad experience from a dentist that did put two caps in and was not gentle at all (we never went back to him), she may not really remember it, but I think it's still there somewhere.  Last time she did go she even said it wasn't as bad as she thought, but she now is saying she lied and that if she goes again she will have to have work done, so that is her fear.  Anyways, thank you all so much, I will keep you posted of her, hopefully a success story.


P.S. She did take it upon herself to check out this site and after is when she agreed to go in a month. So, it helped alot for her to realize she is not alone.
Kim