https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 03:34:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2850424 Wed, 10 Oct 2018 13:49:59 +0000 snowjewelz 2850424@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: So glad it went well! Both girls have an appt coming up this month; I'm so nervous! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2850376 Wed, 10 Oct 2018 11:07:43 +0000 josina 2850376@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thought I'd give an update for anyone else dealing with this...<br /> It has taken forever to get this far after the dentist we were referred to was first on vacation and then just not answering emails/calls at all, so we went with another pediatric dentist who is amazing - but also super busy!</p> <p>We ended up scheduling 3 appointments for the fillings, first was last week. We talked up the dentist a LOT with DS, telling him what they were going to do, the noises, etc. He was totally fine and excited to get a toy. At the dentist he got nervous when it came time to lay back so we had to coax him /semi-force him, and immediately did laughing gas which helped SO MUCH. He was great for what ended up being a crown, and 1 filling, and took about a half hour total.<br /> He loves showing off his shiny new tooth.<br /> Thankfully the rest will just be fillings.<br /> We were also able to get dental insurance to cover $1k of it, so we're thinking around $500-600 out of pocket. The laughing gas was not covered by insurance so was $55 day of.</p> <p>Luckily DD (1-1/2) had her first appointment and her teeth look great! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836932 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 14:21:24 +0000 DesertDreams88 2836932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Thanks for the comment on gummy vitamins, we normally give them around 8 a.m. but we don't brush until about 12:30 as part of his nap routine. I am going to rethink that now.</p> <p>We have used a pea sized amount of flouride-free toothpaste since he was about 8-9 months. At 2 years old I started getting nervous about cavities so we added in a grain-size amount of fluoride toothpaste, in addition to the othertoothpaste, to mask the taste.</p> <p>The ADA recommendation is to use a grain size amount of fluoride as soon as the teeth erupt.</p> <p>I haven't ever encouraged LO to spit, but we wipe inside his mouth with a towel briefly.</p> <p>We use an electric toothbrush, which hopefully gets more.</p> <p>@gingerbebe had a great tip that we use: have/make your child lay down between your legs, with their arms under your thighs, so that they are immobilized. Brush quickly while singing a simple song. At the end of the song, stop brushing and cheer and clap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836848 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 11:29:43 +0000 KT326 2836848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Snowybreeze: just wanted to pop in and say our pediatric dentist and our pediatrician told us we can use fluoride toothpaste in lieu of fluoride drops since we don’t have fluoridated water. It’s perfectly fine for them to swallow small amounts (like a grain of rice size of toothpaste on the toothbrush). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836840 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 11:21:18 +0000 josina 2836840@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: Well, we definitely need to work on brushing twice a day, but don't give gummies, juice, or any other 'major' sugar items.<br /> @Elizabear: Our dentist diagnosed visually and by checking soft spots initially. The pediatric dentist was able to take x-rays to confirm.<br /> @Snowybreeze: Yes, he swallows but we always use a small amount so I'm not too worried. And it is kid toothpaste. (funny enough the one time I used adult toothpaste he hated it so much he spit it all out, so an option I guess, lol).<br /> I think we definitely need the fluoride because we have well-water so don't get the benefit of fluoride water in the city.<br /> Interesting that the dentist already says she'll need braces. Luckily neither DH nor I had them, so fingers crossed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836827 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 11:02:01 +0000 Snowybreeze 2836827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: So does he swallow the toothpaste? We do have fluoride free toothpaste but I was thinking it's just not worth giving, knowing he would just swallow everything.<br /> Yes- genetics do play a big part. My side of the family have a history of gum disease. It means we are more prone to developing gum disease even if we brush/routine the same amount as another person. It took me years to understand what needs to be done to get it under control. A little off topic- but similarly the way the teeth comes out is also genetic. For e.g. Both my kids have their baby teeth really close to each other, no gaps at all. and here we are thinking that was a good thing, until we took them to the dentist and he said "Beautiful teeth and smile! unfortunately she will definitely need braces". Both hubby and I had braces. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836824 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 10:53:46 +0000 Snowybreeze 2836824@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Elizabear: They don't normally do xrays until at least 5-6 years of age if i remembered correctly that's what they said. They basically just look for visible cavities and our question to them was "what if the cavity is in between two teeth?" We went to two places for a 2nd opinion, and both places told us that if it's in between two teeth, the cavity is minor and no cause for concern and not something they would treat at the moment for their age. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836820 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 10:50:48 +0000 Snowybreeze 2836820@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: That's a good point. I am not too keen on those gummies. We get the ones from Honest company which is probably one of the lesser sweet gummies out there, but still contains visible sugar! When Olver started cringing in pain, I told my husband I think we need to stop with those gummies. I was never concerned about his vitamin intake as he eats everything and lots of it. So there was a debate between hubby and I. Of course Oliver is in his terrible threes (yup carried over from the terrible twos), and food is our bribe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836787 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 09:32:16 +0000 Elizabear 2836787@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hi everyone! I'm curious as to how your dentist diagnosed cavities. We've been going every 6 months since 2 but we haven't had any x rays yet. We are a milk at bedtime and middle of the night which is a terrible habit but works so well. Our dentist told to me to floss in between the molars which has me wondering if he saw something but didn't mention any cavities. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836750 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 08:41:59 +0000 Adira 2836750@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: Our dentist recommends brushing twice a day. They said a lot of cavities are caused by giving kids gummy vitamins in the morning on the way out the door and not brushing right after. Not sure if that's contributed to your LO's issues, but thought I'd mention it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836738 Mon, 30 Jul 2018 08:12:54 +0000 josina 2836738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Snowybreeze: We brush once a day always, sometimes twice and he's pretty good about brushing himself and letting me finish to make sure we got all the 'sugar bugs'. He's definitely not great about spitting which is why we just use a small amount of toothpaste.<br /> Thats great that DD hasn't had any cavities even with the milk at night! Genetics must play a part for DS since I have always had bad teeth also.<br /> My DD is also a horrible brusher, she's only 18 months and will 'chew' on the brush and screams/cries when I brush for her, but have to do it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836705 Sun, 29 Jul 2018 21:30:29 +0000 Snowybreeze 2836705@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: wanted to ask how often did your little one brush? was reading some of the answers regarding genetics or hygiene. My daughter is 5.5 and still loves her bottle. She drinks it every night and although now she has cut out the in the middle of the night sessions, she used to drink a few times a night. She doesn't have a single cavity. She learned to brush/rinse and spit since she was 2.5 and has been diligently doing so twice a day. So I'm here to believe that milk doesn't play a huge part as long as they are brushing well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836704 Sun, 29 Jul 2018 21:26:52 +0000 Snowybreeze 2836704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: My son eats SO MUCH. and he still refuses to brush. 5 months ago, we had to tackle him down to brush and he would bloody scream. Then he started pointing to his teeth and telling us it hurts and cringes when he bit down on certain food. He was a few months shy of 3 years old at that time. We took him to two different pediatrician dentist to get a few opinions. We know for sure he has a cavity in the front top between two teeth. We can see it. The first place said it is very very tiny and not to worry about it but just keep brushing as best as we can. (They knew how bad he was when we needed 4 people to hold him down just so they can check his teeth- and all they did was open his mouth to look). Both dental place said that the front cavity is very small and that they don't see any other cavities. We were so relief. Just to step back, after the first place, he was still cringing and saying something hurts, so of course we were still worried, so we took him to another, and they said the same thing. One additional thing they told us was that one of his last molars was just 2/3 in and she suspected maybe that the tooth trying to come in was giving him some discomfort. 2 weeks later, he wasn't cringing anymore. Phew! but that isn't the last of our worries. Now 5 months later, he has gotten MUCH better at letting US brush him, no more bloody screaming. He still doesn't know how to rinse and spit out water. We are still working on that but he keeps drinking down the water (we give him bottle water just in case he swallows it). We've tried every trick in getting him to learn to spit it out. No luck yet. So here we are just praying he'll keep his teeth in tact until they are ready to come out on their own. The dentist said that they wouldn't be able to do any work on him with his behavior, even with the options of laughing gas, they need him to be "somewhat good". I couldn't even comprehend giving him laughing gas, I feel so bad thinking about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities/page/2#post-2836497 Fri, 27 Jul 2018 13:23:11 +0000 ALV91711 2836497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: It sounds like it will be one appointment. That is good that he wants to go to the dentist again! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836392 Fri, 27 Jul 2018 08:10:06 +0000 josina 2836392@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ALV91711: Oh man, that's too bad! Will they be able to do it in one appointment at least? :(<br /> @gotkimchi: Yeah, we pretty much just do whatever they tell us also! E has actually been asking to go back to the dentist, so thats good, lol. He might change his mind after the fillings! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836381 Fri, 27 Jul 2018 06:44:27 +0000 ALV91711 2836381@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: Glad it went good. </p> <p>DS is 5 and at his cleaning last month we found out he has numerous cavities, two of his molars beingvrealky bad. We got referred to a pediatric dentist. We had our assessment appointment but they weren't able to get X-rays, DS was too upset. The plan is caps for sure on two molars and when they get the X-rays his other molars will either be capped or sealed. He will have to go under anesthesia for all this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836266 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 15:19:23 +0000 gotkimchi 2836266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: yes they said they do 1/appt. I didn’t question it because I’ve never done this with kids before and I really really don’t want her to hate the dentist like I do! So they do 1/appt all spaced 2 weeks apart. I’d love to do less appt but I trust them so we’re going with it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836263 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 15:10:13 +0000 josina 2836263@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gotkimchi: Glad it went well! So you have 3 more appointments to go?! I'm really hoping we can get ours done in 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836250 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 14:14:36 +0000 gotkimchi 2836250@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: my lo has her first of 4 cavities filled yesterday + they sealed a molar. They did laughing gas + flush with oxygen after. She did totally fine and said her cheek felt weird after because it was numb. She got her prizes and keeps saying her dentist says to eat soft food lol. So it went great, I’m ready to get the rest over with. I didn’t talk about it at all before hand just said she’s doing to dentist. Took about 45 min. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836244 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 13:58:50 +0000 josina 2836244@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsbubbletea: lol. E was telling the dental hygienist about how he went to a parade the night before and got candy! Thanks kiddo, make us look bad. :silly: (It did disappear by morning - we've learned our lesson!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836239 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 13:42:35 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2836239@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: great news he did so well! I hope the fillings go well. We saw our dentist out at the play area at the mall yesterday and my son kept loudly asking when we were going to the chocolate store (there’s one right by there that gives free samples) :shocked: :silly: hopefully she didn’t hear! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836187 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 09:52:26 +0000 josina 2836187@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Will do! Yesterday went really well, and I'm not sure if it's because of the pediatric dentist, or because both DH and I were there, or if E was just in a good mood, lol. So we'll see how the fillings go! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836180 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 09:47:47 +0000 snowjewelz 2836180@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: Good luck and please report back on your experiences! My girls seem to not have such great teeth either due to genetics; so while we have everything under control, I'm not totally sure if they'll both be able to wait till their baby teeth fall out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2836158 Thu, 26 Jul 2018 08:41:38 +0000 josina 2836158@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Update: We finally got in with a pediatric dentist and E did great, we were able to take x-rays no problem and this dentist confirmed the 6 cavities, with 1 being close to the nerve so 'may' worse-case-scenario need a crown, but he thought we'd be okay.<br /> We're hoping to get the fillings done in 2 appointments, but did schedule a 3rd just in case. </p> <p>We are opting for laughing gas to help - any stories of how that goes with toddlers? Me and DH have never had it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820352 Fri, 04 May 2018 11:46:27 +0000 Anagram 2820352@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Iced Tea: I'm sure this depends on the practice, but at my pediatric dentist's office, the first visit is free because they don't do a clinic. But if you want a fluoride treatment or cleaning, then yes, you pay. I just add my kiddos to my dental plan as soon as possible, because then all the visits are free. And although they don't typically do cleanings at 1 year old, my youngest already had a lot of plaque buildup, so then they did do a quick cleaning after all. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820342 Fri, 04 May 2018 11:27:26 +0000 Iced Tea 2820342@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So when you go for this “practice” visit where they just count teeth, do you still pay for a full visit? I think I’d be a bit pissed if I did! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820244 Fri, 04 May 2018 08:46:26 +0000 josina 2820244@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mama Bird: We haven't seen the pediatric dentist yet who will actually do the procedure, so I'm not sure, but we'll definitely check all options!</p> <p>@gotkimchi: YES! I was really glad DH took him because I would've totally felt that way! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820161 Thu, 03 May 2018 16:53:52 +0000 Mama Bird 2820161@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: the anesthesia thing is scary! Do they have an actual anesthesiologist do it? And is sealing the cavities with the silver stuff an option? It does stain, but they're not permanent teeth anyway... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820150 Thu, 03 May 2018 15:54:22 +0000 gingerbebe 2820150@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just in case anyone needs another method for brushing teeth:</p> <p>We lay our boys down on the ground and we sit sorta behind their heads. We place their heads between our thighs and place their arms/shoulders under our legs so they are pinned down in a T shape. Then we ask them what song they would like us to sing for them (or before they are able to verbalize we pick a song they might like) and sing while we brush their teeth. Their patience is highest at the beginning, so we work on the back molars and behind teeth first, and move forward. We are able to keep their heads from moving between our thighs and since we have both hands free, we can tickle their ribs or pull their chins if they start to bite down on the toothbrush or clamp their mouths shut. The last thing we do is ask the boys to say "cheese" and brush the front teeth really well and then ask them to say "ahh" for the last bit, which is when we finish the song and sing "CHA CHA CHA!" while we brush their tongue. We've done it that way since both kids were just shy of a year old (after giving them a tooth brush to chew/play with in the bath at around 6 months). DS1 is 3.5 and DS2 is almost 2 years old and we do this every single day successfully. DH and I both have HORRIFIC teeth and dental problems due to family genetics on both sides and *knock on wood* neither kid has any cavities yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/toddlers-and-cavities#post-2820126 Thu, 03 May 2018 14:43:33 +0000 gotkimchi 2820126@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: chiming in because my 4yo was at the dentist today and has 4 or 5 cavities :( I feel guilty and like they’re judging me! But anyways we’re doing 4appt with nitrous oxide, cost before insurance is around $1000 </p>