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I would want a second opinion and also want to know whatelse I can do to prevent.

Has he gotten fluoride varnishes?

I, too, would get a second opinion. DD (2y4m) fell and shattered her front tooth, so it needed to be removed completely. They just put her on Versed and did laughing gas on top of that to intensify the effect. She did great on it and had minimal side effects.

I would be extremely apprehensive to put my kid under completely. There was a toddler in my area who died while getting dental work done because she was under and stopped breathing. I just don't feel comfortable putting myself (or especially my kid!) under general anesthesia when it's not in a hospital setting.

@junebugsmama: I would be hesitant to do that. Is he totally night weaned now? I would look to cut out any sugary drinks or dry chewy snacks like raisins that are culprits for cavities in toddlers.

@junebugsmama: oh ok. I had a lot of cavities myself as a child and even as an adult and I know that some people are just more prone to them. They say there are three things that contribute: genes, hygiene and diet.

I have bad teeth genes and unfortunately my kids have it too. I'm looking to get sealants done.

We did wait with my daughters molar cavity until she was 3 and could do it in office (with gas) instead of under general. The first one was really rough and ended up with a crown because we waited so long. She didn't like the dentist and we switched offices for the other teeth she needed done and now she doesn't mind going at all.

@junebugsmama: She goes tomorrow for her front teeth (just topical issues) so I can let you know more tomorrow how that goes. We were considering GA because she had 4 molar issues. If you're just talking 1 molar issue and 4 other front topical issues I would maybe consider waiting. But thats something you probably need to talk to your dentist about because another 18m is a long time to wait. Hers weren't discovered until after age 2, so we only had less than a year to wait.

@junebugsmama: I'm really cavity prone and DD is too. It was really difficult trying to wean her off the bottle and as a result, she has cavities on her front teeth and molar. But our dentist is against treatment. The general consensus around here is to not scare kids from going to the dentist. They "paint" her teeth every 3 months (sealants) and it seems to be doing well. She even gets a small toy after every visit.

With that said, I'm looking forward to the day when they actually patch up her cavities. But at the same time, I know it's best to wait.

@junebugsmama: Sorry, just seeing your comment above. She had some issues on the front face of her tooth. not really drilling into a molar. She did great again and still has some more smaller issues we will keep working with.

@SugarplumsMom: I need to ask about sealants because I think our new insurance covers it. Is there any reason why the dentist would not have suggested it at this point?

@junebugsmama: Im glad you guys found a solution though!

@SugarplumsMom: if it stains the teeth, it's silver nitrate, which is something still being researched, but a promising treatment for children or elderly who cannot stand dental work.

If not, it's just fluoride varnish and it's not doing much, but will hopefully keep the decay from progressing to abscess. Make sure you watch for swelling and/or pus drainage above the tooth.

This thread is interesting. We just found out that my almost 3 year old has a few very small cavities behind her lower front teeth, probably from when I used to nurse her before bed without brushing afterwards and then she'd have a pacifier all night long (bad mommy, I know). My dad is a dentist and said there was nothing we could do at her age so we would just be very good about brushing and wait and see. He may apply some fluoride at her next appt (6 months) and possibly may try to treat them in a year. He also said we may get lucky and they'll just fall out before we need to do anything. I should ask him about this silver thing.

@yellowbird: ahh youre right, i just read a paper on it, I've never actually used it and don't plan to just because if shit hits the fan using it I'd prefer it hit the fan at a specialist since it's still not standard of care here, though my states Medicaid will pay for it now.

Do you see benefit to the varnish as far as progression goes--any brand differences? Like, mi varnish? I don't go that route, because again, private practice, people are sue happy, I'll let the specialist decide if they want to treat. We don't even have nitrous in my practice though, so I only work on the most angelic children ever. It's great.

Edit to add: the times that I have gone conservative with treatment it's unfortunately not worked out. There's no fluoride in the water here though and people won't use fluoride toothpaste.

@T.H.O.U.: hey! I think we have a pediatric dentist here, but for my patients I recommend fluoride varnish at the dentist office, a low dose of fluoride tablets and a schmear of fluoride toothpaste. There is both a topical and a systemic benefit to fluoride, and I go by the ada guidelines. I find that in my area, our pediatricians have already prescribed fluoride tabs so I don't have to do it much. There are different strengths of tabs so your dentist should be prescribing the correct dose for your child's weight. If they are at a low risk for decay it's not the end of the world not to use the tabs, but if I have children, they will be taking tabs.

@toile234: thanks. Our pediatrician didn't really have an opinion so we have to follow up with the dentist. Unfortunately they have bad teeth she already has a crown at age 5 but then again so did I by age 5

@toile234: the dentist we saw reviewed diet and agreed it's most likely the daycare snacks of crackers and such. She just has deep molars. We've been working with her on at least swishing with water.

DS already has really crowded teeth. He's going to be a mess too

@junebugsmama: how's it going? My 3yo needs a crown and I am bummed out. It would be under general at the children's hospital.

Has anyone gone through this?!

@T.H.O.U.: was your lo under general for their crown?

@junebugsmama: I guess it won't be at the children's hospital But it is at our hospital's surgery center for outpatient surgery. I am going to take a tour next week and find out who the anesthesiologist will be. I am okay with a hospital setting, I just need her to be monitored by an actual anesthesiologist. Ugh! Where would your child's be done?

@T.H.O.U.: wow! They won't even do an xray awake, they don't want to traumatize, is the thinking