Questions About Dental Procedure

I would recommend that you have any work done by a pediatric dentist as they are used to dealing with kids and are most likely to make it a positive experience. My daughter's dentist uses nitrous oxide and a topical anesthetic before injecting the novacain. She had no idea that they gave her a shot and still does not think that she had to have a shot the day she had a tooth pulled!

Good luck!

Hi, J.,
Our son was 5 when he had a cavity. I called every dentist in our town of about 100,000 plus the dental school practice and finally found a prof at the dental school willing to fill it without any kind of medication. He said, "We'll try it and if it doesn't work, we'll stop and re-evaluate." And it worked fine and inspired another dentist at the university to ask an older gentleman if he wanted a small cavity filled w/o medication, the older man said, "fine," and it was done very easily and w/o pain.
The reason I know this works is that my twin and I had many cavities filled as we were growing up, all w/o medication of any kind and we did feel some twinges (nerves, I guess), but it was absolutely doable. A year ago, I even had a gingevectomy done with absolutely no medication and it truly did not hurt at all. The periodontist said afterwards that he had never done a procedure of any kind in his office without first giving the patient medication. People expect it to hurt and won't even give it a chance and we are all over-prescribed. I did have a shot (ouch!) in the mouth for a crown, however, and it probably was good for that as they really get in deep.
Often the "operation" goes well, but the patient suffers because of the anesthesia, so I want to avoid it whenever possible and that went for our 4 sons as well. I always wanted their heads clear.
J., the most important part of all this is your attitude towards his getting the cavities filled. If you are nervous about it, so will he be worried. Treat it as a normal part of life and say "we are so fortunate to have wonderful people like dentists to help us with our teeth so we can keep them all our lives" and that will make him feel good about the dentist. (I've seen many 40 year-olds in Indonesia who have very few teeth left).
Good luck with your son.
B. Ryerson

My son got his first and only cavity at the age of 3. I was so surprised but his dentist, Dr. Litman at Main Street Children's Dentistry on Kendall Drive gave his filling and everythings been fine since then. They did not sedate him but did use laughing gas so he didn't feel any pain and he got to watch his movie during the procedure

It may be worth looking into diet and environmental issues as the root cause. Dr. Steven Green DDS (www.antiagingdentist.com) is a holistic dentist for kids and adults as well as a nutritionist and would be worth seeing for a second opinion on the procedure. It may also be helpful to check out the dental section of this children's health library for information on potential causes of tooth decay as well as preventative impacts of xylitol rather than fluoride for kids. http://www.atlantisnatural.com/content/Health_Library.htm

Are you going to a pediatric dentist? My older daughter had a lot of cavities between 4-8, sometimes multiple at one time. I think they would split it up over two visits(I don't think she ever had eight). If your son does need eight filled, I don't think they should fill them all at once, especially at age 4. The good news is once she got her adult teeth so far so good.

All five of my children go to a strictly pediatric dentist, and they have been going since they were three years old. Twice a year for cleanings and preventative measures like the sealant another mom mentioned. They are so good with the kids, they come and get them and take them to the back. It is one big room where everyone colors and plays games while they wait their turn to see the dentist. Usually the parents will stay in the waiting room unless there is a problem. I have never had to go back with any of my children. Two of my children have had cavities filled, although they were 6 and 8 at the time. They went back for the cleaning, came out and told me P. had one cavity and C. had two. Then they took them back and filled them during the same visit. Boy was that a relief. Even though I did not go back with them, I know that they did not give them any drugs or medication because after only a short time they came out just as lucid and coherent as they were before they went back. M. also had to have a tooth repaired that had been broken off when he was four years old. No crying, screaming, absolutely no problems at all! None of my children have had a bad experience with this dentist, in fact they are always excited to go and often ask when they can go back. I don't know about you, but I hated the dentist as a child and never wanted to go. This makes me feel confident in our dentist and his ability to care for my children's teeth.

So, if your son does not see a pediatric dentist, I would highly recommend that you consider making the change. I have never had a good experience with dentists myself, so I would be concerned about my child having a traumatic experience with one who didn't specialize in pediatric dentistry.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help...

Hi J. - You are not alone. My middle daughter, now 10 had 2 bad cavities in her lower back teeth when she was about 3.5-4. I sought out a peads dentist as NONE in our town were trained to work on children that young! (back then anyway). We travelled to another town 50+ miles away. Her teeth were not fillable at that point so he had to make stainless steel caps to cover the whole tooth. She was given laughing gas to calm her, however I was not allowed to stay in the room while he was working on her. I hated that.

I was mortified number 1 that her teeth were that bad so soon, I keep my kids on a low sugar diet and we brush twice a day.

Since then all 3 of my kids are cavity FREE at 9, 10 & 12 -so I must have done something right after all.

We cannot beat mother nature and genetics so some things are bound to happen no matter how good we are.

M. F

depends on the dentist....we have put kids under general anesthesia for extensive dental work at times.....on the other hand, my kids' dentist would not do them all at once unless they were very small cavities; usually he does not even use novacaine (injection) unless they are very deep. I would suggest you ask the dentist ahead of time, when your child is not there....a lot of places have a policy like they don't want the child to hear the word "shot" or "injection". We've been going to Dr. Kirsch, a pediatric dentist in Coral Springs, for many years. He puts all the kids in one large treatment room and for some reason the "peer pressure" seems to help....they see the other kids aren't scared, so they aren't either. In fact my kids, who are now teenagers, are seeing him today....but they've been going to him since they were about 2. Dental care today is not what it was years ago....I remember being terrified of the dentist as a child, but my kids actually look forward to going! So call the dentist and see what they plan to do, and ask how they would suggest you prepare your child in advance (whether to explain to the child what will happen, or not say anything!). If you have a dentist who specializes in kids, I'm sure everything will be fine! Just make sure that you, mom, are not anxious, because your child will sense that.

My kids did and we had it done at the hospital and they were sedated..

Hey there! I have 4 kids: ages 9, 6, 3, 3. We have been seeing Dr. Troy King in Oviedo (on Alafaya Woods) since my oldest was 2. Traumatized as a child myself, I was petrified about taking my baby to any dentist. I have to tell you, as honest as the day is long, he is the BEST with children! Seriously consider him for a second/additional opinion. You won't regret it, and your baby will have a positive experience.

Hey there, that is no fun. My son was about that age when he had to get some dental work. I think for the amount your child has, it will be differant. I never believe in putting anyone down unless absolutely necessary b/c I am always worried about what the medications can do, as far as them not waking up. But they can give them laughing gas & do the numbing & it worked for my son, it didn't even faze him. I would make sure that whoever they sent you to, is a pediatric dentist. Whomever it is, needs to be VERY familiar with children & you will have no problem. I would be a little nervous if you are going to someone who works on every age. One more thing. I woul question why they are going to do all 8 of them at the same time. I know, I had to have some work done on 3 teeth, not all caveties, but all time consuming & it was enough for me as an adult. Good luck.

I went through something similar with my daughter, only not quite as many teeth at once. Her dentist filled all 3 of them at the same time and used nitrus (laughing gas) to mildly sedate her for the process. We then had the dentist put a sealant over all of her molars to help protect them. Now that her "real" molars are coming in, we plan to have the sealant put over them as well.

Hello there, I think they will give him laughing gas, its a little mask they put on the nose and it makes them feel kind of silly and relaxed at the same time,my son is 8 yrs old and hes had a couple fillngs done like this,he was fine with it, if you go to a pediatric dentist he should be ok as thier real kid friendly and can deal with kids anxietys about being there in the first place and make him feel relaxed.Good Luck to you and your son.You definately want him to have a good expierence at the dentist or he will always be scared and never want to return.

I have had the same problem with my 5 year old. I was totally shocked because neither my husband and I have ever had a problem with cavities and we diligently brush her teeth. I did some research and if it is the molars, you are supposed to have them filled because they will keep these teeth for several more years (sometimes up until they are 11 or 12) and if the cavities aren't filled they could cause decay with the permanent teeth.
With my daughter, she had 4 and they would only do 2 at a time. They did not put her out. They gave her a little "laughing gas", just enough to relax her. I was there the whole time and I couldn't see any alteration in her at all. I wasn't even sure if the gas was working until they started to work on her and she just sat there and let them do it while she watched the movie they had playing for her. When we were done, they gave her oxygen to bring her back "down" and she walked out no problem. It was a pretty painless procedure (for both of us). The only issue we had, was that her mouth was still numb for a few hours afterwards and since her lips felt funny, she kept biting them and ended up biting a small sore into her mouth because she couldn't feel what she was doing. They gave us a prescription cream and it cleared it up right away. So just watch him afterwards and make sure he isn't biting the inside of his mouth and he should be fine.
If you are in Miami, I highly recommend Dr. Tedi Litman at Main Street Children's Dentistry. She was great for the whole thing.
Good luck.

Relax, it is not uncommon. Dental cavities and caries effect thousands of little ones, not because of poor dental hygiene, but because of antibiotics, and other bacterias common amongst children these ages too. Get the teeth filled and avoid the child having to go through such excruciating pain in the future, It will break your heart to watch your little one crying in pain that you cannot arrest because of an angry root or nerve. You are on the right track.

Best wishes
J.

Please take your child to a ped dentist, or make certain the dentist enjoys working on children, and is up to date regarding prevention.

Children can begin seeing the dentist at 2, or even earlier.

an excellent way to prevent cavities is to use xylitol gum or mints--xylitol inhibits the bacteria that causes decay, AND inner ear infections. For little ones, the xylitol may be administered by nasal spray or drops. Xylitol will not be effective in reversing decay, in order to reverse decay it must be caught early. You can order MI paste from drugstore .com or buy it from your dentist.

MI stands for Minimally Invasive, and is a wonderful product to brush with to reverse EARLY decay. If the holes are already there, please restore the teeth that will be retained for a few years for many reasons.

Please feel free to ask me questions, I am a dental hygiennist, and orfacial myologist (I treat thumb sucking, non nutritive oral habits, mouth breathing, open bites, lisps, swallowing habits, open mouth breathing and eating, allergies, orothodontic failures, down syndrome, short upper lip. strong gag reflex, stomach and headaches due to breathing and swallowing patterns, and several other concerns, like denture issues)

J.,

I haven't gone through this with any of my boys. However, I do remember going through this with my sisters a while back. Usually with children this young knowing that they won't sit still very long they will give them something to help them relax. Nothing that will harm them, I remember they used laughing gas on my sister. And the fillings were nothing to worry about. Like I said I haven't any problems with my boys in this area but I wish you all the luck with your little one.

S.

Hey J., I had the exact same thing happen when my daughter was about 4 also. Went to the dentist and they said she had 8 cavities also. I was so shocked like you and could not believe it. So I went and got a second opinion and the second opinion said she did not have any cavities. I made sure this dentist checked and triple checked and she said they were not cavities just food stains from maybe vitamins and food. So if you still feel like something is not right, I would suggest getting that second opinion before you go through all that. Thankfully we did not have to go through all that! Hope things turn out ok for you and you son!

Good Morning!

My daughter went to the dentist for the first time at 4 years old and she also had 8 cavities. She goes to a pediatric dentist and he is really great with the kids. When his patients have multiple cavities like in my daughter's case, he only works on 1 quadrant of the mouth at a time. An example would be doing the two on the bottom right side at one appointment and the left lower side at the next appointment. Her dentist feels it is better for the kids to not have them all done at once because it is hard enough for them to manage just one part of the mouth being numb, let alone the whole mouth. Also, for kids under 6 he gives a little sedation, which is administered immediately upon arrival in the office. They give the meds about 20 minutes to work and then take them in the back, use the local and do the filling. In my daughters case, she had cavities on the side of the tooth and between 2 teeth so she has 2 silver caps. She has never had a problem since that first trip to the dentist. She is not afraid to go to the dentist and when she does go for check-ups, she is always excited to get her new toothbrush and play with the kids.

I would definitely make sure you use a pediatric dentist and be sure to talk to your son about what will happen when they fill the cavities.

Good Luck!

I'm a Registered Dental Hygienist so I can let you know a little about what can happen :). Most people are right that they will probably be sedated. Mostly this is because kids are generally nervous and might not sit still. If the cavities are deep enough, like in the nerve then they will most definately need to be sedated so the dentist can work properly. It's true that in children though that if the cavity is small enough the filling can be done without anesthetic as the drill does not go near the nerve..but that would be a call that you would have to make depending on how easy going your 4-year old is.

Contrary to what was said below, cavities come from frequency of sugar consumption, not from minerals not being allowed back into the tooth. Minerals not being allowed back into the tooth certainly won't help the situation, but it's not the cause. When sugar is consumed frequently throughout the day, whether it's through food like doughnuts, Little Debbie snacks, candy, etc. or with juice or milk...what happens is that the mouth constantly is in a acidic pH state and that is where the cavity bacteria thrive, they eat the sugars and their byproduct is the acid that breaks down teeth resulting in cavities.

However, a tiny cavity can remineralize so that there is no more cavity mainly thorough special toothpaste you get at the dentist...I'm sure there are other ways too for those that are more into the homeopathic remedies. However, if the cavity is deep, and especially if it has gotten to the nerve, it will not remineralize and will continue to get worse until it's taken care of.

Again, depending on how deep the cavity is and which teeth are affected sometimes it is ok to let the baby teeth fall out naturally. If he/she is getting ready to loose the tooth and it's a small cavity, then it's ok to let it stay as the child is not in pain and the cavity won't affect the permanent tooth. however if the decay is deep and the child won't lose the tooth for a few more years the tooth needs to be filled to 1. Make it so the child won't be in pain, and 2. Make it so the decay does not affect the permanent tooth coming in under the affected baby tooth.

So you could use the tooth soap and it may help with remineralization, but if you or your children have a high sugar frequency they will still get cavities, probably even more so because there is no fluoride in the tooth soap.

Some of it also depends on when they were in utero...some Moms like to drink bottled water which is great, but bottled water generally does not have fluoride in there, so as baby's first teeth are developing in utero, they are not incorporating fluoride into their baby teeth and become more susceptable to cavities. Couple that with high sugar frequency and you have a recipie for multiple cavities.

I hope this info helped, and wherever you go the dental hygienist and/or dentist should be able to provide nutritional counseling so this can be prevented in the future. If you wish to not use fluoride there are ways to prevent cavities without it's use...mainly controlling how often their oral cavity is in an acidic environment by limiting sweets/juices. HTH!

I have heard that many children are getting cavities at young ages becasue they are drinking bottled water instead of tap water. Tap water has flouride in it whereas the bottled water does not. I have started giving my daughter tap water with her juice or just by itself instead of bottled water.

I recommend you try a different toothpaste to prevent cavities (next time). I recommend you try tooth soap (www.toothsoap.com). I ordered the liquid, but next time I am ordering the shreds, because I think that will be more child friendly. My theeth feel SO CLEAN after I use ToothSoap. The taste is OK, too. My kids don't complain about using it. Check it out.

S.
P.S. I am not affiliated, just a happy customer.

Hi,
My opinion is that cavities can actually reverse when you get proper mineralization and proper saliva pH, and with baby teeth it may be OK to just let them fall out naturally. I don't use toothpaste anymore (not even the fluoride free herbal ones), I use tooth soap instead since I discovered that toothpaste coats teeth with a residue that interferes with remineralization of teeth. Acids pull minerals from teeth and minerals we consume help replenish. If minerals aren't replenished the teeth start to develop decay. You can get FREE information at the link I'm posting about dental health and how to use diet and natural means to build and maintain healthy teeth and save a fortune on dental costs. Tooth Soap itself is also great for gums, it's made with organic essential oils and is safer than ordinary toothpastes for children since it has no fluoride - swallowing the amount of fluoride present in toothpastes is hazardous. Tooth Soap has been endorsed by Natural News, a leading Natural Health Internet News publication.

Click this link to learn more
http://www.automateyourwebsite.com/app/?af=694666

Hope this information helps!

J.,
I know this seems frightening, but take a deep breath, it's really not. I used to work with a pediatric dentist. Also my daughter had to have filling done when she was 5. Normally the dentist will try to do all the fillings in one visit so it's not so tramatic for your little one. The dentist typically will give "laughing gas" to relax them some even prescribe and oral sedative (a pill) they take about an hour before the appt. it doesn't put them to sleep it just makes them relaxed and not nervous. My daughter doesn't even remember having her fiilings done or the shot they used to numb her tooth. I hope this makes you feel better. Just be sure and voice all your concerns and questions to the dentist they will answer everything to make you comfortable.

Good Day,
I just took my 2 nieces to the dentist. The 4 yr. old visit was her first and she has 8 cavitiess! Plus my 7 yr./ old is competing with her sister, she has 7! They don't eat much sweets, but my oldest has bad dental habits! My little one loves to brush & floss. The dentist we went to, has them both scheduled for sedation dentistry! They will fix them all while my girls sleep! Yes- I am sure the molars will be effected if not filled! They are very important teeth! I will keep you ^ your son in our prayers! May God bless you both!
TRULY,
Kathy N.