Dental specialist said my 11 month old needs dental surgery.

I don't usually post but I am freaking out so badly right now and the sources here have been really helpful before...

Anyway, we noticed a couple weeks ago that L's bottom 2 teeth are awful--not like Google Image bad, but still huge cavities. We were referred to a specialist by our dentist and the specialist is saying there's nothing to do but surgery, the enamel's totally gone. Surgery will involve general anaesthesia and I am FREAKING OUT about this being done on an 11 month old. I keep seeing news stories about how terrible it is that preschoolers need dental surgery and the risks involved with that, let alone a baby.

Should I be getting a second opinion? Is it worth getting one? I feel like an awful mom--we brushed her teeth 2x a day since she had her 1st tooth, and she's never had any juice or sugar, except for when the dr told us to give her a little bit of prune juice for digestion. The specialist said it was my night nursing and that has to stop immediately--L basically has bottle mouth, but through nursing.

Raindrop
grapefruit / 4731 posts

Mar 31, 2014

This is probably not your fault. Sometimes it's just genes.

Sorry to ask... do you or your SO have teeth issues? Like weak enamel?

Also if you are this concerned you should get a second opinion. Can't hurt!
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@Raindrop: Yeah...I apparently have weak enamel--SO has never had a cavity. Even so I was never really had bad cavities until much later, like 5 or 6 years old. I was not expecting this within a few months of having teeth
Mrs. Pen
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts

Mar 31, 2014

I'm so, so sorry!!! That is so hard. It's nothing you did - I have heard so many times that sometimes it's just genetic predisposition, which totally sucks.

Big hugs mama!
T.H.O.U.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts

Mar 31, 2014

I would totally look at a second recommendation.

I heard that the "night nursing" theory was incorrect:

http://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/tooth-decay/
MoonMoon
pomegranate / 3393 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@vnvdvci: I'm so sorry, I totally get why the news is upsetting and stressful for you!

And I'd always heard that nursing doesn't have the same impact on teeth-I wonder if I should try to cut back on night nursing...? (my lo is almost 10 months)

Hugs!
Mamaof2
squash / 13208 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@vnvdvci: I would def look at a 2nd opinion! I nursed both my kids overnight until age 1 so I don't think that is the main cause - I have heard genetics play a huge roll though.

Hugs to you!
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@T.H.O.U.: That's exactly the page I found too. Both L's dentist and the specialist said her teeth look exactly like bottle mouth though.

@Mrs. Pen: thank you! I just feel so down right now, probably because it's the first "bad" thing to happen to L and I'm terrified about surgery for myself, much less my /baby/
Raindrop
grapefruit / 4731 posts

Mar 31, 2014

Interesting! Sorry that it affected your LO at such a young age.

One of my friends had such bad enamel that they pulled out all her baby teeth when she was little and she had to wear baby false teeth.

I when I got to the dentist appointments with LO I am concerned about his teeth having cavities too. My dentist said oh he's fine, I can see by looking at your teeth that he will probably have good teeth too. I thought that was kind of weird because she had no idea of my history... okay yeah I have no cavities and I never had braces... how did she know that?! But now that I think of it... do babies get their mom's teeth?
T.H.O.U.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@vnvdvci: Again, I wouldn't beat yourself up about nursing. If nursing was the cause, there would be MILLIONS of babies around the world over all generations that dealt with this.
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@MoonMoon: @Mamaof2: Yeah, we're getting another appt with her dentist before her 'scheduled' surgery next week--I honestly don't know how I'll deal if she actually needs to go into the surgery though...
blackbird
wonderful grape / 20453 posts

Mar 31, 2014

I would most certainly get a second recommendation from a pediatric dental specialist before putting my LO through surgery.

DH has an enamel issue with his teeth (his sister does, too), so i always worry E could have issues. It's not your fault, it's just a genetic thing sometimes. It's not like you're letting your kid go to sleep with a candy sucker in his mouth!
dolphin
pomegranate / 3768 posts

Mar 31, 2014

i would definitely get a second opinion too!
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

Well I keep compulsively looking for answers, and there are a million I can think of for those of you who are concerned about night-nursing. There was some indication that if mom has tooth decay bacteria then it can be transferred to babies (via saliva--I sucked on her pacifier a few times and I know I have awful teeth). So...there's that.
matador84
papaya / 10560 posts

Mar 31, 2014

Second opinion just in case. My nephew knocked out his front baby tooth when he was 2 and long story, short needed a similar surgery to repair the gum and tooth when he was 3.
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@matador84: Thanks for the input! I've got an appt with her dentist and am making another with the family doctor too
Kemma
grapefruit / 4291 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@vnvdvci: I'm another person that doesn't believe night nursing is the cause, particularly at such a young age! The mechanics of nursing mean that the milk just doesn't pool around the teeth like it would from a bottle and night nursing is perfectly normal and healthy in a baby!

Check out the link below re: improving dental health:

http://forums.llli.org/showthread.php?118065-distraught-and-discouraged
autumn865
persimmon / 1147 posts

Mar 31, 2014

Awe HUGS! First of all I want to say that this is not something that is your fault. You have been doing everything right by brushing and being aware of things just not seeming right with your LOs teeth. Night nursing has nothing to do with this and whoever told you that is misinformed of the mechanics of nursing. In terms of the surgery I totally get feeling like you're faced with an awful decision. But I would imagine any doctor would look at and weigh all the risks involved before recommending surgery; meaning that he felt from his professional opinion that the risk of surgery for your LO is less than the risk of leaving the tooth in the mouth to become infected etc.
pastemoo
cantaloupe / 6146 posts

Mar 31, 2014

Second opinion... if only for your peace of mind so you don't second guess your decision.
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@Kemma: Thanks for the link. I think we might try changing her diet around, though I thought it was pretty good. I even check the sugar content of the fruit she eats, knowing how she probably inherited my teeth. I never expected that would be undermined so early!

@autumn865: Thank you for that...I was feeling awful about the night nursing because it's basically what's given me any semblance of sleep this semester of law school. I know she doesn't need it at this age and could probably be sleep trained, but I didn't want to deal with it until finals are done!!!
Torchwood
pomelo / 5607 posts

Mar 31, 2014

@Raindrop: I wish babies got their mom's teeth! My mom has GREAT enamel (never had a cavity), and my dad's is terrible. Guess whose I got? Hoping LO gets DH's, because I do NOT want to pass this down.
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Apr 1, 2014

So we checked in both with L's regular dentist and family dr today. Looks like she will be going in for the dental procedure after all. The family dr did give us some possible alternatives (like dealing with infections using antibiotics when they come), but with the sheer number of cavities L has (4/8 teeth!) it's just not feasible.

The dentist said it's best we caught this early and her cavities are fairly shallow--he had another 4 year old whose parents noticed the same thing at L's age but didn't do anything, and now the poor kid needs pretty much everything done. Sooooo I guess I feel more resigned to it, though not much better about her going through the procedure itself. I guess moral of the story is check your kid's teeth! Especially if your or SO's teeth were bad!
mrbee
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts

Apr 1, 2014

@vnvdvci: glad you caught early, and thanks for sharing your story!

Is your username short for, veni, vidi, vici?
vnvdvci
grape / 92 posts

Apr 1, 2014

@mrbee: lol yup! Have no idea how it came to me for a parenting site...unless I was feeling particularly optimistic that day
mrbee
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts

Apr 1, 2014

@vnvdvci: love it!!
Raindrop
grapefruit / 4731 posts

Apr 1, 2014

@vnvdvci: Good that it was caught early.

	Today	Monthly Record
Topics	0	0
Posts	1	0

Hellobee Boards

Dental specialist said my 11 month old needs dental surgery.

You might also enjoy...

Reply

most popular tags

most recent archives

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Board Posts

Classifieds

Deals

Today's Leaders

Your LO's Health

Today's Posts

Site Basics

Features

Series

The Team

More