Front Tooth Decay in 21 Month Old.

Sounds like baby bottle syndrome. Babies who are put to bed with a bottle usually end up with decay in their front two teeth, often with a crescent shape around where the nipple would be. Don't let it go. Take her to the dentist. Pediatric dentists are very familiar with this problem and will treat her gently.

Our pediatric dentist puts the kids to sleep because it is so much easier for them. They go in, hang out until they go back, get a little gas, get the IV, go to sleep, get all the work done in just a few minutes, get the IV out, wake up almost immediately, ready to go play and have fun. No side effects, no memory of the procedure, nothing.

They are fixed and it was super easy.

If you follow mommypotamus on FB she just posted an article about how her exclusively BF daughter developed tooth decay. It can happen from things other than bottles. Here is a link to the article: http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-i-reversed-my-daughters-t...

Yes. Find a pediatric dentist who can direct you to next steps. My DD's first cavity needed no sedation, but more recently we got 7 fillings for her under sedation. Your dentist can tell you the best way to handle it. I found our pediatric dental office by asking my dentist who he would send his kids to. And FWIW, we have come to realize that my DD has poor enamel. We are hoping this is outgrown when her adult teeth come in.

Our office, btw, has benches so that parents can sit next to their child the whole time. The only time I have not been by her side for everything was when she was in the OR. I only stayed til she was asleep, but as soon as she was in recovery, I was right there again. When she had the front tooth patched in the office, I was there with her.

baby bottle tooth decay, this is the very reason I never let my kids have bottles in bed. With a friend of mine they had to put fillings in all the front teeth, so sedation will more then likely be needed.

It's obvious what has caused this, but that is not what Alissa is asking. I don't know any dentists in your area, but as a dental hygienist I know what they will do. They will have to put a white composite filling in your baby's tooth, she is on the edge of being too young for nitrous, but that would be the best bet. Unlikely to need general anesthetic, but they will almost certainly need to strap her down to stop her moving during the procedure. Front teeth are not very deep, so it will be a real easy procedure, unless the decay has spread towards the root area, in which case she will need a root canal, which as you know is a lot more involved.
A lot of people put stainless steel crowns on baby teeth, but I am not a big fan of the look of them, but they work just fine, and are fairly inexpensive. If it's just a filling, then post op pain will be very little.
A good pediatric dentist will be able to answer all of your questions, and good luck! Don't forget to ask the hygienist how you can avoid this is the future!

I sadly have quite a bit of experience with this.
My first bit of advice is this: if the pediatric dentist won't allow parents to be with their children before, during,and after the procedure, FIND A NEW ONE. This is so, so important. They will have all these "great" reasons that they think its best for you, as the parent, to stay in the waiting room, but the bottom line is this: they don't want you back there because they don't want you watching how they (might have to) treat your child. This includes restraints (which were used on my autistic son, without my consent, and after I PROMISED him they wouldn't), screaming in pain at the injection of the IV (which sometimes needs multiple attempts on little ones), and screaming in pain at the injection of lidocaine (this is extremely painful for the filling of front teeth).
I got sucked into the "great reasons" by a renowned pediatric dentist in my area, and was assured that after my son drank the oral Versed, he would be knocked out. The rest would be a cinch. Well, I could hear him screaming for me during the procedure (which was blessedly short-15 minutes), but they wouldn't let me back there. Then I was told that only about 5% of kids don't get sleepy with Versed, and even though mine was one of them, there was virtually no chance he would actually "remember" everything after the drug wore off. Well, to this day, 4 years later, he remembers. He remembers that he screamed for me, and I didn't come. He remembers that they held him down, he remembers how much the injections into his gums hurt (2 front teeth fillings). He remembers.
We had problems with the same teeth about 8 months later. I went to 2 more pediatric dentists until I found one that would allow parents to comfort their child in whatever way they saw fit. The tooth needed pulled. I sat next to my son the ENTIRE time, and held his hand, and assured him it was almost over, and I was there. Yes, it still hurt to be numbed, but he had my hand in his hand, and it was a 3 minute procedure. He has very little memory of it, because he was calm, and there is no emotional trauma associated with it.
Please, please, find a dentist who allows you to be with your child if need be.
Also, beyond that, find a dentist who understands that besides a filling, if the tooth needs more work than that, just pull it. 2 of 4 dentists I saw for B's teeth said pull, the others said root canal. After much research, we decided pulling made the most sense in terms of pain, money and time. I'm happy to report he has 2 beautiful permanent front teeth now :)

Our pediatric dentist is fantastic!!! She is in Rohnert Park near the high school.
http://brushflosssmile.com Jamie Sahouria, DDS, MS -She is very patient and gentle with the children. Instead of saying that the child needs a filling she will tell them that she is going to "paint a princess" on the tooth so don't say anything about it to your child beforehand.
She also holds a carnival in the parking lot every year with a bounce house, face painting and pizza to give back to the community.
If you are giving your child liquid iron vitamins it may be leaving stains on her teeth and you could easily remove those by rubbing some peroxide on them.

She is really young and should have those teeth for awhile (age 7-8 or so I notice most kids loose top front teeth and get big teeth).

I might be over board, but I would not get silver fillings for a young child's front teeth. They are way cheaper than porcelain (white), yet I think the white teeth will allow the child to not feel as self conscience about the teeth. If it is out of your budget, then sorry for suggesting it.

Also, try not to scrub too hard. And you never know, it could be mineral deposits that the dentist can scrub off easily. Happened to my son. I was freaking out and it was just some weird mineral deposit that needed a stronger toothpaste then the kiddie stuff.

I recommend Dr. Mary Anne Forni, a pediatric dentist in Santa Rosa. Her number is ###-###-#### and she's on Farmers Lane. My daughter loves her and I really like all of her staff too. A friend uses Dr. Raymond Ramos, a pediatric dentist in Petaluma and really likes him and his staff.
Good luck!