Fillings

[justmummy]

My ds (aged 6) has complained about his teeth hurting a couple of times recently. He finally allowed me to have a good look in his mouth this morning and I am ashamed to say I could see some decay on the side he said was hurting.

It's not hurting him constantly so i will get him off to the dentist next week, but i feel awful.

I've always wondered how parents can neglect their childrens mouths and allow decay to happen. But now here i am with a child who looks like he needs fillings at the age of 6.

He brushes twice a day, sometimes i do let him do it himself - if i'm in a rush to get ready in the mornings. I will definitely supervise him more and make time to make sure they are done properly, but some damage has already been done.

What i wondered was, has anybody else here got little ones who have had fillings at this age. I know i had some as a child but i'm not sure what age. How do they do it, do they have to go through having that horrible injection. I'm scared stiff at what he might have to go through, he's still so young.

Don't know what the dentist will say to me, i feel like the worst mother in the world at the moment.

[robinw]

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[lou33]

No dentist worth their salt will make you feel bad Justmummy. The factors behind tooth decay are many. My chidren have a collagen deficiency which affects their teeth, causing some of them to be removed as young as 2. My 6 year old has fillings too, despite her being almost obsessive about brushing her teeth. Ds1 who is aged 4 1/2 just had teeth removed without a GA and was brilliant about it. Just go to the dentist and tell them what the problem is, I'm sure he/she will be fine with you and ds. Good luck.

[SueW]

justmummy, not only does my daughter have fillings (she's also six) she has been referred to the dental hospital and will be having five extractions.

There's a long story behind this so bear with me although I will no doubt cry as I type it.

She had two tiny fillings of which one doesn't appear to have been done properly. It rotted underneath, causing a huge filling to be needed. The dentist didn't give her a local anaesthetic (even though he had initially said he would) and she screamed the place down. He asked me if he could continue, said he was very close to the nerve and I refused permission without anaesthetic. He said a ocuple of extra drops of fluoride in the filling should be ok and filled that tooth in. Last month she got an abcess under the tooth.

I no longer know who to trust or where to turn. I feel my daughter has been messed around with by two dentists and am disgusted. How can I ever trust one again?

We found another dentist who referred us to the dental hospital because of DD's swallowing problem and the potential effect on her teeth.

When we got there they found some decay in one of her top teeth also (in between the teeth), as well as pointing out the abcess and, because they couldn't do the extractions on the spot, I have got to take her back. Needless to say, she throws a complete fit every time I mention it and it's over an hour's drive away. I can hardly put her in the car and pretend it's not happening. Not my way, anyway.

And, I have lost so much confidence in the profession that I have stopped going myself. I'm not even registered with a dentist - too terrified to open my mouth now.

I feel really sad and hurt by the whole thing. I attended the dentist regularly all my life until 3 years ago when my old dentist retired and a new one took over. He filled one of my teeth and a short time later I had to have a root canal treatment on the same tooth (done by another dentist, in Australia).

The 5 extractions by the way aren't entirely due to decay - two are because of keeping the balance of teeth in the mouth so that her new adult teeth don't migrate sideways and one is an extra tooth which has gorwn in behind her first ones.

Soory - have now hijacked your thread with my horror story. I'm sure you have a good relaible dentist who will take good care of your child. Get there pronto!

[robinw]

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[robinw]

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[CountessDracula]

So sorry to hear about your horrible toothy experiences Justmummy and SueW. I will look into these Xylitol things myself, though dd only drinks water and milk at the moment so hope is ok.

Has anyone heard about this coating you can get for kid's teeth, the dentist paints it on and it prevents all decay. I expect they want to keep quiet about it as it will put them out of business! I read something about it somewhere ages ago (before I had dd) and I would like to look into it.

[CountessDracula]

This may interest some:

New vaccine for tooth decay

British scientists have developed a successful vaccine against tooth decay from genetically modified tobacco plants, according to a recent report in the journal Nature Medicine. Results from a four-month patient trial were very encouraging, leading to speculation that the treatment should be available to the public within a few years.

Tooth decay is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus mutans, which produces acid as it feeds on sugar and other carbohydrates coating the teeth. It affects half of all children by the age of five and three quarters of all 17 year-olds. The liquid vaccine that has been developed is simply painted on the teeth. A few applications provide protection against tooth decay for at least four months. The active components are antibodies that attach themselves to the tooth decay bacteria, preventing them from becoming established on the teeth. While these impotent microbes are washed away, other ones that are harmless, colonise the teeth leaving no room for further invasions by viable cells of S. mutans.

The work is the culmination of a 25-year effort at Guys Hospital in London, UK. Initially the objective was the production of a traditional vaccine for injection into the bloodstream, but the revolution in molecular biology has allowed the production of genetically modified tobacco plants as "factories" producing large amounts of clean, safe vaccine for oral consumption. Eight small plants or one full-grown specimen are enough to produce a single course of treatment. It would cost very little to produce the vaccine on a large scale from fields of tobacco plants.

Thought to be the first effective therapeutic molecule for humans made in genetically modified plants, it is also the first time that a secretory - as opposed to a blood-borne - vaccine has been used in a human trial. Professor Tom Lehner, one of the scientists heading the research, was the first person to put the colourless, tasteless liquid in his mouth eight years ago. He said, " A field study has to be carried out first. Once we've done this we then can decide whether it should be self-administered. My own preference would be that, for the next few years, while we learn more about this therapy, it should be applied by dentists. After a few years we could start experimenting with self-application, using a tooth paste or mouthwash or even tablets."

The British Dental Association welcomed the news but also added a warning: "Even if the vaccine does come into general use, dentists would not wish the public to abandon the simple oral health messages". Good oral hygiene, brushing regularly with a fluoride toothpaste is recommended. Limiting eating occasions to regular meals and no more than two to three snacking occasions daily will also help protect and improve dental health.

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[CountessDracula]

And here is something about sealants for childrens' teeth

[Dannie]

Justmummy, it's awful, isn't it? Ds, who's 5, has the same problem. I'm mortified as I've never had a filling myself despite a lifetime of chocolate addiction. My previous dentist, who's a bit weird anyway, made a remarkable song & dance with referrals to clinics etc, so I changed dentists. New dentist filled one tooth on first visit without the slightest fuss and we're going back to have the 2nd one done on the other side. Fillings for milk teeth seem to be a much less major undertaking than for adult teeth (presumably they don't have to last as long) and hopefully now we've been scared, we'll take better care

[robinw]

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[Rian]

Just to say thanks for the info on this thread. I was horrified to find out yesterday that my (just) seven year old needs two fillings in her adult back teeth. Her five year old sister already has one in one of her milk teeth. that was ok, just a bit of white stuff pressed into the tooth - no drilling or anything. She wasn't upset by it at all. However the 7 year olds will be a 'proper' filling apparently as its her permanent teeth. dentist said he wouldn't use an injection, but won't it hurt?I couldn't really ask too much about it as did not want to freak her out - she is already worrying about going back to have it done I really felt such a bad mother. the dentist gave me quite a lecture re brushing, no sweets etc. they honestly don't guzzle loads of sweets, but maybe I have been a bit lax on supervising brushing - we certainly haven't been doing the three minutes he said we should, at least not on school mornings! Have now bought an egg timer to help us remember and am off to buy xylitol and check out those those teeth websites...

[SueW]

Update on DD's extractions:

It took us a over a month to get DD to the stage where she felt happy about going for the extractions. Booked the appointment. Put her on Nil By Mouth starve and on Thursday drove 50 miles to the dental hospital for her to have them out under GA.

Got there, waited an hour. Saw dentist who explained what they would do. Passed to anaesthetist with dentist's comment 'there's a lot in the file'. Anaesthetist asked me to tell what's in the file. Explained DD's medical history. I have this down pat now/ 'She has achalasia. Are you familiar it?' which often elicits that they are not entirely. Anyway, upshot was that anaesthetist refused to put her under because of the risk of aspiration.

He said it was 'wholly inappropriate' that she had been referred to have the teeth removed in that setting and it should only be done in a children's hospital with full medical back-up. He apologised for the wasted trip we had had.

I'm am absolutely furious. DD was in tears - she really wanted to get it over and done with. We spent 1.5 hours driving there, packing, etc. Then all that time waiting, then had to drive back. For nothing.

Now they want her to go in as an in-patient to their local children's hospital next Thursday to be on the Friday morning list. I have to admit I have no desire to spend Thursday afternoon and overnight from 2pm (the time we are expected to arrive) on a children's ward and possibly even less desire to be up at around 4.30am to drive us there to be on the morning list when we have a perfectly good children's hospital in Nottingham.

It seems that the dental profession and me are getting on ever less good terms.

No-one even seems to be able to commit themselves on saying whether these extractions are so necessary it would be fine to her to go on a potentially longer waiting list at Nottingham.

[JJ]

Oh no SueW! I just read this. Poor little girl and poor you!

Justmummy, one of my friends is religious about brushing/not many sweets/ etc and her daughter (age 5) has had fillings. I've had very few cavities (the ones I had were due to problems with my braces years ago) but am a lot worse at the mouth hygiene thing. (Not horrible! Just a lot worse than she is.) I think some people are more susceptible to it than others -- from what CD wrote, decay is caused by a strep bacteria. In the same way that some people are more likely to get sick than others, some people have more trouble with their teeth. (sorry for being all babbly .. my main point is that even if you do all you can, it's still possible to get decay in teeth)

[robinw]

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[JJ]

RobinW, I love the xylitol thing. We haven't had any problems but it's so nice being able to give him gum and some sweets -- not only without feeling guilty, but even feeling like I'm doing something good for him!

[Demented]

Robinw, hope you don't mind me asking you a Xylitol question. I seem to remember you recommending a toothpaste with Xylitol in it from Boots I have had a look in my local Boots and can only see an adult toothpaste with Xylitol in it, the childrens' one that I saw had Sorbitol in it. Is Sorbitol a similar thing or should I still be looking for Xylitol, I feel DS1 is still too little for chewing gum so would prefer to look for the toothpaste. Thanks in advance.

[robinw]

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[Demented]

Thankyou robinw, I will look out for the croc next time I am in Boots.

[bettys]

I've been buying the Boots crocodile toothpaste since robinw has recommended it here (when I can find it). However on the last tube it said from ages 6-12, which it hasn't said previously (my ds is 4). Any idea why they've changed this? Does this mean I can't use it anymore?

[robinw]

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[FairyMum]

I also had to have fillings at the age of six. I even had to pull out a tooth because of decay. I didn't eat sweets except for Saturdays and brushed my teeth 3 times a day, so it was not for lack of dental care. I guess I just had really bad milk teeth. Except for a few fillings when going through puberty, my teeth are now healthy and strong and I always get lots of praise from dentists so I think it's possible to be very unlucky with your milk teeth unfortunatly......

[SueW]

I tried to speak to our dentist about this yesterday but he is on holiday so I rang the local hospital. Apparently she would have to go there as a new patient - current waiting list is 18 weeks - and then someone would decide how urgent it is.

I am tending towards 'Oh hell, let's just get it over with' but mightily cheesed off that we have to go so far and stay overnight in the hospital or get up at 4.30am or pay to stay in a local hotel!