Mi 3 Years Old Son Has Cavities

Updated on November 08, 2010
E.S. asks from El Dorado Hills, CA
11 answers

hi moms mi son is 3 years old son has many cavities end his dentist told me he has to have fillings and because he young and does not co-operate they have to put him to sleep so they can work, now my husband and I we are scare the idea of put him to sleep and not only that they have to sedate him and the side effect and risk are there, so any of you moms went through something like that or similar i will love to hear from you any advise thank you moms.

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T.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi E.,
My sister is a dentist, and her fiance is a pediatric dentist. I know this is very scary, but I think it might be less traumatic for him than having his teeth filled. The good thing is he will not remember it afterward. You might want to ask the dentist about getting sealant on his teeth too, so that he has some more protection for the future. Do you still brush his teeth? I hope so. 3 is still too young to be brushing on his own. We have a Sonicare Kids' toothbrush that has really made brushing more fun for my son, and it automatically shuts off after 2 minutes. It would be a good idea to get him one of those. They are SO much better than a regular tooth brush, and worth the money you will save in dentist bills!
How many cavities does he have? My friend with 2 sons with cavities was able to have the one with 4 cavities awake while they were filled, but her oldest was thought to have only 7 cavities, and was put under. He actually ended up having 11 cavities AND a root canal! So, it was a good thing he was put under.

Good luck, I hope it all goes well,
T.
Barefoot Books Ambassador
www.ReadandGrow.com

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B.S.

answers from Sacramento on

I would try Children's Choice Dental or something similar. Our dentist tries many things before going straight to sedation. My son had trouble as well and we ended up using nitrous.

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D.S.

answers from San Francisco on

E., Since the problem is becasue of lack of care now the results are that he needs care and it will be less trumatic for him to have it done while asleep than to hear the noise and to have someone holding his mouth open to work.
We have had 3 of our children asleep while having dental work done and we have a excellent Dentist and respect all of his input. Good Luck

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

It is no big deal, they go to sleep for a few minutes and come out with beautiful white teeth. K was out about an hour at most, she had several cavities and 1 broken tooth that had to be capped. We love our dentist and I will not take the kids to anyone else until he tells me they are just too old.

They did the procedure in a hospital in OKC and we were there early but something happened and they ran behind...that's usual in some places isn't it... anyway, they let us go back with her into the pre-surgery area and got her in a gown and hat. she got to watch cartoons and was totally relaxed and not stressed out or anything. She walked to the operating room and cam out, woke up and wanted to go out to eat.

I know there are possible side effects from the anesthesia but they are very unlikely and with what they are doing it really isn't much of a risk at all.

The other possibility is the child getting abscesses and the infection going to their brain or to their heart and them dying from infection. Please don't worry, it will be fine. Even if they have a bad reaction to the anesthesia they will come out of it within about 30 minutes.

J had tubes put in his ears in July and woke up screaming, he was disoriented and afraid. He was fine within the hour and wanted to go eat lunch too.
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Cavites happen all the time in baby teeth and it is a good thing you found this pediatric dentist. Some would have just given him shots in his mouth and did all that work with him awake and can you imagine what what could be going through that little guys mind?

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T.L.

answers from Sacramento on

I totally understand how you feel. My daughter, when she was 3 yrs old had cavities in her front teeth. They said they needed to be crowned to save them. The only this could happen was to put her under. I put it off for about a year because of her age, but you can't just leave the teeth to rot, it can effect the permanent teeth underneath, so we finally gave in. The procedure went fine. They put her under in a surgical center where they perform these procedures and her teeth were saved. But only for a short time. She ended up getting infections in her gums over and over again above those crowned teeth so we ended up pulling 3 of them anyways. If I had know it wouldn't have lasted less than a year, (cost $1500 out of pocket) I would have just pulled the teeth which is what we had to do anyways. She looked cute and had no problems eating. Good luck with your decision.

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J.G.

answers from San Francisco on

There are dentists that will perform the work without your child being put under. You might want to call around. Our dentist broke up the work into a couple appointments so our son didn't have to be in the chair for too long.

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J.T.

answers from Sacramento on

You may want to ask about conscious sedation. They are slightly sedated and relaxed, but can respond to questions and are awake instead of asleep. We went this route with my 5 year old son. They gave him a little med to drink and then were stayed in the waiting room for about an hour until it started kicking in and then we went into the room where they gave him some nitrous oxide. He was calm, relaxed and did fine through the entire procedure and didn't remember it afterward. I would strongly recommend it if you are concerned about putting your son under general anesthesia. I would also highly recommend the pediatric dentist we go to at Capital Pediatric Dentistry in Sacramento. The only thing my son really had a hard time with is the numb sensation in his mouth afterward, which seemed to last forever. Good luck!

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O.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Hello, my daughter's pediatrician noticed staining on my daughters teeth at her 1 year appointment. I took her to the dentist (pediatric dentist) he said we should keep an eye on it. About 6 months later it had worsened. Finally getting approval from our health insurance to cover the anesthesia we got her teeth fixed when she was almost 2. Anesthesia is very scary ( I work in a medical field and I know the risks). They gave her an oral sedative that made her look very drunk. It was a little funny, weird and disconcerting all at the same time. The Anesthesia is monitored by a anesthesiologist while the dentist focus on the dental work. They had monitors and an IV line going. I talked to her until she fell asleep and they had to intubate her to keep her anesthetized as well as protecting her airway. I cried as I left my baby laying on the chair. It was a very scary situation. My husband held her while she woke up. She was groggy for a few hours after the procedure. We got home and she acted disoriented and groggy. She wanted to move about but her body had not yet fully recovered. Overall they found out she had way more cavities than suspected and by catching them this early we saved her teeth. She recovered fine and after a few hours was almost her normal self. We now have a very regimented teeth brushing, flossing, mouth wash and fluoride routine. She did fine and as long as you get a current check up with your doctor to clear him I'm sure he will be fine. It is a very scary situation I understand your concern.

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C.S.

answers from Sacramento on

Our dentist has a little laughing gas that she has the young ones breathe. My daughter had to have this done and she was so happy the whole time, watching a disney movie on the ceiling.
Dr. Trout LIttle Fish Dental Rocklin, Ca
I'd take a little laughing gas over sedation any day!
On another note my son has had 10 surgeries and it is the most horrible thing for me to take him to the hospital and have him undergo the sedation and the surgery. I never want to do it again. His teeth are not good either and our wonderful dentist is helping us not have to take him in for sedation to work on his teeth.
Good luck.
C.

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi,

I'm not sure about the sedation, but I wanted to add one point. Make sure they don't use mercury amalgam filings. They have composite filings now that are much safer than the mercury filings.

Good luck!

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E.S.

answers from San Francisco on

This happened to my nephew, I would do it right away. They had to wait a month for a special dentist/anethesiologist from LA. By the time the appointment came around, the rot was was so extensive that they had to pull his whole tooth. If you do not take care of it, the cavity can go to his permanent teeth. I would also beware of the sugars, including juice or milk/formula that he may be consuming. Your dentist should give you this information.

Good luck!

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