Need Some Advise... - Apex,NC

Hello J.:

I used to work for a pediatric dentist and saw this a few times. The adult teeth of the child I saw long-term did come in fine. The most important thing is to get it taken care of because decay in baby teeth can damage the adult teeth. That being said, if you child is not in pain it will be worth it to wait for the new dentist in November. You can also call the office and ask if the dentist can prescribe an antihistamine for her to take before her appointment to make her a little drowsy. I was certified to monitor children that had the premedication and were on nitrous oxide and can tell you that it is worth the wait. I know this may sound odd, but we did not usually let the parents in the room if the kids had a lot of problems. They would act out more with parents around to feed their guilt and other emotions. Also call the office and see if you could bring her a few days before the appointment and meet the dentist and have the dental assistant give her a tour. Not all offices do this, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The best times for this are 10-12 when most kids are in school. Oh yeah - about the board with the cloth that wraps around. It does work well if it is presented in the right way. The caterpillar going into a cacoon and comming out a butterfly does work well with four-year-old girls. Just make sure it is explained to her in some way and she should be fine. I hope all this helps and good luck!

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I was a hygienist for 25 years and am shocked that a pediatric dentist uses only local sedation or novacane! Shop around and find one your like. It wont hurt to wait until november at all so dont worry about that. Let this be a lesson for all mom's to take your child to the dentist as soon as all 20 baby teeth are erupted! This is so important for a general screening to make sure there aren't enamel problems like J.'s daughter has. Even though you dont feed your daughter "tons" of sugar, there are hidden sugars in juice, and many other drinks. Also her permanent teeth will not be effected by the baby teeth unless she looses one of the back molars early so dont worry about that either. Just make sure to stay on top of the preventive check-ups. They are soooo important! I am so sorry that your daughter has been through such a traumatic experience at the dentist already. Shame on your dentist!

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Hi J.,

I have recently run into the same thing with my 2 yr old, not having enamel on his molars. I am currently taking him to Charlotte Pediatric Dentistry to be treated for a couple of reasons. One is that they are used to dealing with children and the second is they have an anesthesiologist who works with them in their office. They do sedation for procedures like crowns for molars without enamel. You may want to do a consultation with them to see what you think. Good luck.

When I had my first child my dentist said that I should begin taking him to a dentist by his 2nd birthday. They told me that the dentist may not be able to do a whole lot except to look at the teeth and count them and make it a fun visit so that the child is can develop a good relationship with the dentist before the dentist has to do any major work. That being said when my son was about your daughter's age he did have some cavities and needed fillings. The dentist gave me a pill for him to take about 30 - 60 minutes before our appointment to help calm him during the visit. When we got to the doctor's office they began prepping him and he was still moving around a lot. The dentist ask me how I would feel about placing him on a board that has fabric that is wrapped around and secured to hold him still. I told her it would be fine - although I felt like a horrible parent. I told her I wanted to talk to him and explain before we attempted to put him on the board. When we talked with him he asked if it would be like being a caterpillar going into a coccoon and becoming a butterfly. We told him that yes it would be. Well he got so excited about pretending to be a caterpillar. I was with him throughout the whole procedure they also used laughing gas as well. We had more than one appointment like this - he told everybody about how he was a beautiful butterfly. You may want to consider talking to the dentist about using a board to hold your child still. If your dentist has one then maybe you can talk to your daughter and explain that it is kind of like a caterpillar going to a coccoon. We of course explained to my son that he would not have beautiful wings, but would emerge with beautiful teeth.

I totally understand where you are coming from. My oldest son who is now 7 has multiple fillings and three silver crowns. He has one tooth that the enamal didn't properly form and our dentist has been watching it. We go to a wonderful pediatric dentist. With my sons first filling at age 3 she gave him IV versed and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). The versed works as an amnesiac, so he wouldn't have any memory of it. I would strongly urge you to have them use Versed and Nitrous oxide. It was a great experience. We now just have to have the nitrous oxide and novacaine. I definetly would recommend that you wait for the appt with the new dentist. I'm sure your daughter doesn't want to go back to the dentist that only uses novacaine.

Good luck. You are no alone. My son didn't have sweets unil he was 2. We always brush his teeth twice a day. Both my husband and I have bad teeth, I don't know how much of a genetic compont there is to cavity formation.

HI J.,

The only reason I have heard for a dentist not to give laughing gas is that insurance will not pay for it - Have you offered to pay for it yourself? It can cost as much as $100, depending on the dentist. Concidering what you described, I can't believe the dentist wouldn't offer it - it would make his life much easier, too. I'm 42 years old and I still get laughing gas when I go to the dentist for fillings, crowns, etc. Unfortunately, after all of her previous bad experiences, your daughter may never be comfortable going to the dentist. I would definitely keep looking for a good one. You didn't say where you live, but i wish you the best. L.

Thank goodness you are switching! This poor baby, what pain! Sounds like what I went thro in the dark ages, I am 65! There are many good children's dentists out there, but I don't know where you live. Good luck mom.

Hi, J.
My daughter's teeth came in with no enamel. First, of all wait for the new doctor. Since she will need to go to the dentist again and again in her life and now all she knows is fear.
This condition has nothing to do with anything you did or did not do. So do not blame yourself. I was told not to brush her teeth until they were repaired but to let her eat an apple a day followed with a glass of water.
Her adult teeth all came in normal.
I hope the new doctor has more bedside manners than the old one. Hope this helped.....J.

Dear J.,

I feel for you because my older son had the same problem with four "soft molars". There wasn't even enough enamel to put sealants on the teeth - the sealants didn't have enough enamel to adhere to. We had to have filing after filing as well. He's never had a problem or a cavity in any other tooth, thank goodness.

We specifically used pediatric dentists that routinely used laughing gas. I have to say that people have sued their dentists for holding children down or restraining them. That dentist doesn't know how to either co-opt children into working with them for the procedure, or he doesn't care enough to do the right thing to give kids sedation help. Shame on your dentist for not doing either one. You don't know any better, not having had a dentist who has figured out that children are different than adults. The worst thing about what this dentist has done is set your daughter up for a fear of dentists for many years to come. I hope that your next dentist can help with that. You really should explain it to him, out of your daughter's hearing.

By the way, there is nothing you could have done to keep cavities from forming in these soft teeth. I didn't have complications in childbirth that we could point to either. I was told that it could have been a fever while the teeth were forming, so maybe that's it. The good news is that when my son's permanent teeth came in, they were fine, so there was no repeat.

Talk to this new dentist about whether or not your daughter is getting fluoride in your water. None of the places we lived had fluoride, so we supplemented with fluoride tablets. Neither of my kids have had cavities (outside of the soft teeth) thankss to the supplements. So wonderful, compared with the mouthful I had as a child!

Good luck with the new dentist!
D.

Some people just have worse teeth than others -- even with good care, some people just have bad teeth, while others can neglect their teeth and rarely get a cavity. It sucks if you (or your child) is one of those with bad teeth. I've heard that being a non-secretor (meaning your blood type isn't secreted in bodily fluids like saliva) increases the likelihood of bad teeth. Not that you can do anything about it -- but at least you know your child is not alone!

Please wait and get her to the peds dentist with the gas. My children really suffered when I took them to a so-called kids dentist...my 5 yr old daughter had a root canal without my knowledge and was in pain for 3 days, they never once told me to give her tylenol before the pain hit...I was not allowed in the back either and have no idea if they held her down for it. In Washington I insisted on a peds dentist and had to wait 3 months to get in. Once I did, they were great! Even my son who had never been to a dentist was 3 yrs old so they let us visit and try out the chair and the "nose" for the "happy air" twice until he was comfortable with it. Haven't had any trouble getting him to the dentist since! My girls either! They love it. My very best with your situation and keep in mind, even if it takes time, they are baby teeth and the experience is more important than a quick fix. Good luck!!!

My oldest daughter had the same problem - lack of enamel on her baby molars - but otherwise was and is an exceptionally healthy and happy child. My pregnancy was very normal and healthy, too, except for a really bad head cold during the late second trimester. I did treat my symptoms with medicine from the OB's approved list. Years later during my second pregnancy I noticed these meds were no longer on the approved list. That's always made me wonder. . . . . .

But more importantly, the pediatric dentist we used when my daughter was 3 years old put her to sleep in order to attach 3 or 4 crowns. It was out-patient surgery at the hospital and it was by far the kindest way to do it. Please interview other pediatric dentists even it means waiting a bit for treatment.

BTW - my daughter is now 13 and has an absolutely beautiful smile!

Some people just have teeth with issues. My siblings and I all have bad teeth. Mine are in the best shape. One of my sons have terrible teeth, the other two have a few cavaties.
I would wait for the November appt. Kudos to being an advocate for your child. We had a similar situation with our middle son and ended up at a pediatric dentist. Unfortunaltely after a few appts. our ins. changed and the dentist was not on it. Good Luck!