Hellobee Boards

I was right there where you are with my daughter. She was about 3 1/2 when she had her first appt. and they found 4 cavities in her molars. We also figured it was mostly the result of giving in to her desire for milk at night

She ended up needing a crown for one, and getting fillings in the other three. Our pediatric dentist recommended general anesthesia and performing all of the work in one visit, so we went that route. It all went very well and now she has had an execllent dental record for all her visits since then. She has a silver 'treasure tooth' and they sealed the rest of her molars, as she had deep grooves (genetic, I had much of the same problems). They also had her start using a higher fluoride toothpaste which we still use now (at 5.5 yrs). It was pretty expensive, and I was very nervous about the anesthesia, but I think it would have been quite traumatic to endure all that as such a small child. I had a crown myself and that, with the root canal, was just awful so I definitely didn't want her to have to go through it awake and risk creating a really negative association with the dentist.

Hope you can figure out a treatment plan that works well for you all - and that all goes smoothly!

@josina: my youngest had a cavity just 3 months ago at 2.5, and we been taking her to the dentist since she was 1. Anyway,hers was small and on the surface, so they just gave her a little laughing gas and she chilled and watched Moana while they filled it. It was very fast.

Some people just have soft teeth. My husband takes much better care of his teeth than I do, and I’ve never had a cavity and he’s had like 10. Guess DD2 took after him.

Genetics for sure. K1 has gone to the dentist since 18m and we have a few areas to watch for. Really hoping she doesnt need dental work bc she hates the checkup alone! She would have to go under for sure.

This doesn't address your immediate concern, but one thing I wanted to throw out there that I just learned is that in the future, you can get their molars sealed. They paint on this solution and then harden it with a light. Apparently it can last into adulthood and can help with the poor genetics (in my case, it's very grooved surfaces that are hard to keep clean).

@agold: We started at 15 months with our oldest and my youngest will be 18 months when he goes for the first time.

At that age it's just basically a "here is the dentist office" visit. The dentist counted his teeth and that was it. He didn't even sit in the chair. Didn't get his teeth cleaned until 3.5 or 4 (I can't remember which one).

We've gone every 6 months, I have horrible teeth too and lots of bad memories. I didn't want that for my kids. I chose a pediatric dentist that has a very fun, inviting office with lots of visual appeal for the kids. The middle of the waiting room is a giant tree!

@agold: you mentioned how hard it is to brush your littles teeth. I had the same issue but took my little to the dentist yesterday and he showed me a great trick. You sit on the toilet with your lo facing away from you, grab both wrists in your non-dominant hand. Lean their head into the shoulder elbow area of the same arm and use the other to brush. I've done it twice now and it works like a charm. No struggling at all, she even thinks it's fun now

@pinkb: Our ped recommends 18 months and our pediatric dentist recommends as soon as they start getting teeth! But they both realize the first actual cleaning may not happen until they are 3 years old (or later). The first appointments are used to get them comfortable with going to the dentist since it can be kinda scary!

@josina: we’ve been through it for sure! My sons the same age as yours.

-first dentist appointment around 15months. Showed the beginnings of decay on front four teeth in the classic baby bottle mouth look... a kid who refused bottles and never really drank juice at that point! He did however nurse a ton at night, and we were in the habit of eating starchy snacks like pretzels in the stroller. So the combo of leftover sticky food and frequent breast milk, plus I suspect my bad genes, was no good!

-second appt (maybe 18m) they start to push general anesthesia for all the repairs. Cavities had started in molars as well. I made appointment, and then called to cancel after thinking it over. Once I did that, a different dentist mentioned an alternative treatment, silver diamine flouride. Basically, it’s a technique to buy time, where they paint this stuff on the teeth that stops the growth of the cavity. Downside is, the area of decayed tooth turns black. This is what we ended up choosing to do, and it did prevent the teeth from getting worse or damaging the root. We repeated that treatment every 6 months or so.
-once he was almost three, he was able to have conscious sedation and get all the dental work done! He took an oral medication that made him drowsy and calm, and then they did all the dental work with laughing gas. They were very upfront and explicit about their safety protocols in terms of monitoring vital signs and patient’s condition. They still had to papoose him up ( ). By this point, he had cavities on three sides of every molar and most every tooth. He got crowns on his front four teeth. He looks amazing! It cost $2500after insurance (everything is expensive where I live). Thst was a super rough day, he acted like a crazed cranky maniac until bedtime (and I had a newborn!) but he had no pain in recovery and was absolutely fine the next day.

I would definitely do it all again the way we did it, even though cosmetically it was rough having the Black front teeth for 2 years. By the way, we weren’t great at brushing his teeth before his first appt, but after that it was never missed and we did the best job possible no matter what. In some ways it’s easier when they yell because you can really get in there!

Good luck with your decision! Let me know if you have any other questions.

@looch: Yes! That's what the doc told me when we were at our appt yesterday! They saw in the x-rays that the 6-year old permanent molars are about to come out and they will talk about this magical seal that prevents cavities. I must have that sheepish look on my face as I had no idea such thing exists!! Good to get a confirmation here from our fellow bee moms!

@KT326: he started visiting the dentist a little after he turned one. the first time LO went to the dentist DH took him and he sat on DH’s lamp for the counting, cleaning, and flossing. The second time they had him sent on his own. @agold: @MamaBear87: that’s how I brush LO’s teeth. Initially, I let him stand on a stool at the sink and wet the brush and he brushes for a few seconds and then I say “mommy’s turn”. Then he steps down from the stool for my turn. I rinse off the brush and it’s his turn again. I won’t say for sure that this has helped, but LO loves his electric toothbrush. It vibrates and lights up.

Just in case anyone needs another method for brushing teeth:

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.

@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.

@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.

@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) hopefully she didn’t hear!

@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.

@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