What is causing this tooth decay??

[missingthemountains]

DS1 is 5 and has lots of tooth decay. I must confess to some very bad parenting and admit we did not look after his teeth properly when he was younger.

For at least the last 18months though we have done all the right things - he only has water to drink, no sugary snacks (hardly any snacks between meals) and very very rarely any sweets. We brush at least twice a day with adult strength toothpaste and even put extra dabs of toothpaste on the bad teeth. Despite all this the decay is progressing and it is clear that the dentist thinks we are fibbing and aren't doing all we say

Is there anything else that could be contributing to the decay? Could he have a calcium deficiency or weak enamel? What else can we do?

[nikki1978]

Is it ok to use adult strength toothpaste on kids?

I was a bit rubbish with teeth brushing as well and learnt my lesson with DD getting a small hole in her tooth this year.

Do you or DH have weak teeth as it can be genetic? Do they add flouride to the water in your area?

[missingthemountains]

no they don't add flouride to the water here - which is why all the dentists and health visitors tell us to use adult toothpaste for all the kids

DH has loads of fillings but probably due to not brushing teeth as a teenager - my mum has awful teeth though and she's always been vigilant about oral health

[VengefulKitty]

My DS (5) has just had a filling but I can't actually understand why.

Teeth brushed, never touched carbonated drinks, no sweets unless it is a special occasion (xmas, halloween etc)the only thing he has had is chocolate, which is what the dentist decided to blame it on. He even said I look after DS's teeth well!

He also said use adult toothpaste for the added fluoride and also do not rinse the child's mouth with water after. He categorically said to leave the toothpaste on the teeth after a good brush.

I just hope it works. I am ashamed that DS has a filling at the age of 5!

[bramblebooks]

My ds had 4 extractions aged 6. I was mortified as we did everything you describe. Fruit juice could have been an issue, but then he developed t1 diabetes and I realised that it was probably linked to that as apparently there is a greatly elevated risk of teeth problems with t1 (but can't remember why).

[HuwEdwards]

Dried fruit is a big contributor - sticks to the teeth and does a lot of damage so I'm told.

[juliemacc]

Speaking as someone in the profession, the usual culprit is...drinks; it is not the amount of sugar in one go that causes damage, it is the frequency, so a child who has squash or fruit juice or even milk at regular intervals (even if it only a little at a time)has teeth that are constantly being exposed to sugar and this is when the decay occurs.HTH.

[missingthemountains]

thanks Juliemacc but he really does only drink water - not even milk - doesn't like flavoured drinks at all (at parties he asks me to tip out the fruit shoot bottle and refill with water so he looks like he's drinking it like the other kids!)

is it anything to do with being a mouth breather and having a dry mouth at night?

[candyfluff]

hi missing - we have had the same problem with our dd she is 8 now and at the age of 5 had to have 6 teeth out - horrible experience ,felt so very gulity
dentist thinks it was the squash she drank as a toddler and so we stopped the sqaush and just stuck to milk or water.
it hasnt helped much because since then she has had to have another tooth out following an abcess and two fillings despite taking very good care of her oral hygene. i have 2 boys too and their teeth are fine no problems at all and they had the same diet??? so you see i now think its just the way she is not so much what we did wrong as parents.
still sticking to the no sqaush rule and they have a fizzy drink maybe once a week if at all .
i just pray so hard that her adult teeth will be ok and im like hitler with the toothbrushing .

[MillyR]

Has the dentist put fillings in the teeth? If not, then the decay could continue to spread whatever you do.

Some children do have various different problems with enamel formation, and some have insufficient saliva to keep plaque levels down.

I think you need to speak to your dentist again, and find out what treatments he is suggesting to protect the adult teeth.

DS went through years of being told he wasn't brushing his teeth properly - it turned out to be an enamel condition called MIH (happens to permanent teeth), but we had to change dentists to find out. As a consequence DS lost 4 permanent teeth. DD had the same condition but had preventative treatments from the new dentist as soon as her permanent ones came through and has no fillings as a result.

Obviously your problems are with primary teeth not permanent, but I still think you need to resolve it with the dentist or change dentists.