I just had my 7rs old son's teeth checked. He has some cavities but my dentist wants to remove to of his baby teeth and just put spacers in because they will eventually come out. I get that there are cavities in between his teeth but this seems to drastic to me and why not just fix the cavities? My daughter had a spacer and it was very uncomfortable for her. Should i tell the dentist i don't want that done and hope he's ok with that...or just get a second opinion?
Is it cavities or an abcess?
My son had a couple of baby teeth pulled when he was six due to an abcess and then we did the spacer - which was better than braces down the road. however, any cavities he had got fillings.
With that said, I'd get a second opinion. Pulling baby teeth solely due to fillings also seem a bit extreme to me.
Good luck
Depends on the tooth.
A molar he'd need till he's about 12 and ready to fall out.
For 5 or so years without a molar in that spot - his other teeth would shift to fill the gap and I think he'd need braces to fix any resulting misalignments.
A tooth that he's due to lose soon - toward the front - should be replaced by an adult tooth soon - so that wouldn't present a problem for years like a molar would.
It's a good question to ask - why NOT just fill the cavities?
I'm not sure I'd want my kid to have to deal with a spacer for years unless there was no other way to deal with it.
A second opinion isn't a bad idea.
Two of my kids had baby teeth pulled because of the same thing. They would be falling out in the next year or so anyway. Our dentist did not use spacers. The adult teeth came in fine. These kids are teens now and their teeth are straight. Our kids preferred having the tooth pulled (didn't hurt) compared to going through fillings. It was their choice ultimately. I'd get a second opinion if you feel unsure. We did go to another dentist (who was closer) and he suggested pulling a whole whack of molars to let the kids' teeth grow in straight. That seemed unnecessary to us so we went back to our regular dentist and have stuck with him. I'd ask another dentist if you'd feel better about your decision.
Run don't walk for a second opinion. Fill cavities. No space because he kept his teeth.
Get a second opinion.
I would not choose not to have a treatment because it is "very uncomfortable".
Express your concerns, gather more information and then make a decision.
Why would he pull teeth for cavities rather then fill the cavities? A space maintainer is a bigger deal than just having some cavities fixed. My son had to have his molars pulled several years early due to infections in the gums and had to wear a space maintainer for the past 5 years, he just got it out and was so happy to finally have the thing out of his mouth. I would get a second opinion. Plus just getting the teeth pulled can be an ordeal for a child.
If you're not seeing a pediatric dentist I'd suggest you go to one for his dental work until all his baby teeth are out. But if you like the new one stay with them as long as they'll keep seeing you.
I think that kids need to see a pediatric dentist instead of a regular family dentist when they have baby teeth because a pediatric dentist is a specialist in baby teeth and how they effect the teeth that will eventually come in.
Sounds like your dentist just wants to pull teeth and get that extra money for spacers instead of letting nature take it's course.
I would get a second opinion.
I use a family dentist (although a pediatric one would be best) our dentist has kids the same age as mine and has become almost by default a pediatric dentist because he sees so many children. There are a bunch of us who take ourselves and our kids to him.
He is very very good at explaining the whys of filling, vs root canals, vs pulling...which teeth to hold on to as long as possible....why we should pull instead of a baby root canal and use a spacer (turned out he was able to fill it....but it was a close call depth wise).
He refers to an amazing orthodontist and oral surgeon and other dentists including pediatric if you want one. And he has one full time dental hygienist that only cleans children's teeth and she is awesome with the kids!!
But he really explains the why factor of everything to us and encourages us to research it ourselves. So, I would ask some mom friends who they use and get a second opinion.
I would ask the dentist why he wants to pull the teeth rather than fill them. Did he do X-Rays? Perhaps the cavities are too deep to fill? Sometimes pulling the tooth is the best option. If the tooth is pulled, then you need the spacer to save space for the adult tooth that will eventually come in.
I would seek a 2nd opinion. Baby teeth have a function, and many pediatric dentists fix them, not pull them. But it probably depends on which teeth, exactly, have the cavities and how extensive they are. I don't know the specifics of your child teeth, so get another opinion from a pediatric dentist.
I would seek a second opinion. I would also ask to see the x-rays and ask to be shown the cavities. Cavities look like a shadow on the teeth in an xray. If the cavities have not gone down to the root, there is no reason to pull the teeth. My 9 year old had a large cavity in the first or second molar on the one side. The dentist put a silver cap on it to make sure there was no chance the filling would come out.
