Dental cap on seven year old 😕

[Oops4]

Feeling pretty deflated and a bit of a mum fail today. My now seven year old had six years of glowing reports from the dentist then 6 months ago out of the blue needed a filling. I felt awful when they told me. We are fairly strict with their diet. Sweets are a rare treat, only drink water or milk with juice being kept for special occasions (and sugar free at that) and rarely ever have pudding apart from yoghurts. He brushes twice a day every day, he does morning and I do bed time, plus a third time when he's at school. I get on at him to not sook at sweets and even tell him not to rinse his mouth after brushing. His diet's not perfect, he is allowed the odd treat, but I really was shocked when I found out he needed a filling. We were back at the dentist today as his filling had fallen out and the dentist now thinks that he needs a cap and another filling on the other side. She said she could refill it but that they are notoriously bad at falling out of baby teeth and so he would likely need it redone several times between now and his tooth falling out. She thinks the cap is a better, fairer option and said it was a very simple procedure that just required her to pop a cap over his tooth and would be very quick and painless.

The thought of him having a big metal tooth (albeit quite far back) until this tooth falls out makes me want to cry, but obviously this is what we will do if it is the best option for him. I've done some googling and am concerned that it seeems to be a bit more of a procedure than she describes and a lot suggests they should have anaesthesia of some sort (local or even general).

Does anyone have any experience of their child getting a cap? Is it a painless, 5 min job as she described? And does anyone have any suggestions on healthy snacks, particularly for school that are also tooth healthy? Our problem seems to be too much fruit, fruit snacks, fruit filled breakfast cereals etc but there's a limit to how much I'm prepared to come away from these as he also needs to be healthy. Even the dentist got a bit stumped when I asked for suggestions and could only really come up with carrot sticks!

Any help/experience/advice appreciated

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

Well, for a start, stop beating yourself up. His diet sounds great- some children need fillings. That's life. That's what we have dentists for. My 3 children have had identical diets and toothbrushing routines- one needed a filling at six and a few more throughout childhood,but the other two have no fillings aged 17 and 10. Follow the dentist's advice and stop worrrying!

[TallulahBetty]

If it's a baby tooth, Why don't they just remove them?

[CheesyWeez]

Don't worry OP. My son had a metal tooth at 5 and the dentist proudly showed him the "Pirate's tooth" she'd made for him and he was chuffed to bits. It kept the space open for the adult tooth to come through later.

My dentist said that children never brush properly and should be supervised. I find this a really hard thing to do. like InSpace my childrens' dental healths were completely different despite eating the same thing, same brushing routine etc. Some teeth are weaker and I think some children have different bacteria in them (I'm not a doctor though).

Carrot sticks, cheese. But really, brushing twice a day should be enough surely.

[yummytummy]

Hi op. The cap your dentist is talking about is a stainless steel crown used for kids and is different from a crown used in adults which would be done with anaesthetic. It is very quick to fit and eases over the tooth in question. It is more long lasting than fillings which can often pop out and will maintain the space for the permanent teeth nicely. I know it's come as a shock to you but honestly one or two filings is not that bad at all and it sounds as if you are doing all the right things with regards to diet. Honestly don't worry the cap procedure is very straightforward. (Am a children's dentist)

[yummytummy]

Tallulahbetty baby teeth are best kept as long as possible to maintain space for the permanent teeth to erupt properly and prevent crowding

[yummytummy]

Tooth healthy snacks breadsticks cheese hummus carrots cucumber ricecakes milk etc

[TigerBreadAddict]

It may be done without anaesthetic. Look at Wikipedia entry for Hall Crown OP

[Fluffyblanket17]

My son had 5 caps put on to save his teeth during chemo, he still has 3 now, the others have come out naturally with his baby teeth. He's had them years now we don't even notice them. Also he didn't have to have any kind of anaesthetic or anything, from what I remember, he had some spacers put on his teeth (like little elastic bands) for probably a week, then they went on really easily, no fuss at all.

[Mathbat]

I had a cap fitted when I was seven. It was on my front tooth. It wasn’t the most fun thing I’ve ever had done but I survived to tell the tale and most importantly the cap gave be no problems at all. I had it refitted a couple of times as I grew older and then had the tooth crowned once I was an adult. (I fell over and smashed my adult front tooth about six weeks after it came through!!!!)

[Oops4]

Thanks all, that really had helped. With all the things that are outwith our control with our kids I guess I just felt like his teeth were something I should have been able to control. I guess not.

My job is heavily nutrition based and so I do feel like I am careful with his diet but it just seems that a lot of the foods that are good for us just aren't good for our teeth. Just need to find the balance I guess.

Yummytummy it's reassuring to hear from a dentist. This dentist is a new one for us (changed practices) and after my foolishgoogling was beginning to doubt what she had told us about the procedure. She didn't mention an injection or spacers so hoping that she's confident he doesn't need either and it will be as easy as she says.

Thanks again

[hardheadedwoman]

Don’t worry I was horrified after taking the same measures as you with diet, my son had several fillings by the age of 10. DD none.

When it came to orthodontic treatment they needed to remove every filled tooth to make space, so after treatment he now has a perfect smile and zero fillings aged 18. Please don’t beat yourself up it’ll all work out fine in the end

[Oops4]

Me again! So.....we were back at the dentist this week and opted to have the silver cap put on my DS tooth as it was meant to be best option. Out of the two teeth that need attention this one had the smaller hole but was the one causing him pain. It's also the tooth that was previously filled but that filling fell out. Unfortunately the cap only lasted three days before falling out! Managed to persuade the dentist to see him again today (they wanted to wait three weeks) and they have now put in a filling as they didn't have time to re-do the cap although admit this filling will probably just fall out again.

I'm feeling pretty frustrated but now a bit confused about what to do about his other tooth. It had a bigger hole but isn't causing him any pain. The tooth with the filling only caused him pain after they filled it the first time. So I'm wondering.......do we really need to fill/cap this tooth at all. It seems like it's doing the fillings that are causing the problems. So could we just wait and see? Or is that me being daft because I'm a bit annoyed.

Has anyone decided not to fill their kids baby teeth? Or does anyone in the know (hopefully yummytummy is still around!) have an opinion on the filling or not if baby teeth. A friend of a friend is a dental nurse and says her practice rarely ever fills baby teeth. I'm so confused 🤦‍♀️

[friskybivalves]

Dentists very so much in their opinions and approach even within the same practice.

My DD had to have such an enormous bolt of antibiotics to save her from sepsis as a baby that certain teeth were badly affected.

One dentist suggested taking two out - but said that while she was under general anaesthetic they may as well take out three more that were looking vulnerable.

I was horrified and decided not to do anything for time being as she wasn't in pain and so I could think about it.

Went back to practice and saw different dentist. He advised totally other approach. Said he would use fillings that leaches fluoride so they would actually help strengthen the tooth while in. Cheerily said he would carry on jamming them back in every time they fell out.

Fast forward two years odd and DD is now 10, the baby teeth are falling out of their own accord and those that are left are actually in better shape.

Get a second opinion!!!

[Quartz2208]

same @friskybivalves a huge shot of antibiotics for sepsis caused my DS issues as well.

We tried a cap lasted about a year now we just fill when at dentist its quick and painless

[Usernom1234567890]

You mention pain in your post. Is this a regular thing & are you having to give pain relief?
Has your child had a set of radiographs taken?
It's very unusual for a stainless steel crown to debond after 3 days. These type of ss crowns for primary molars are non-tooth preparation, except for possible separators (orthodontic elastics) to prise the teeth apart before the crown is cemented.
Do you have a Community Dental Service in your area? If so, I'd be asking for a referral.

[Oops4]

Thanks frisky and quartz.

usernom, he had been getting pain with biting or when I was brushing his teeth on that side but not to a degree that required required pain relief and the pain only started after the initial filling. I was surprised when the cap fell off, the dentist had remade the cement a bit thinner as was struggling to get it on so I'm not sure if that contributed. I'm hoping to filling that they have put in its place stays put but if not we will retry the cap.
Yes they have X-ray'd his teeth, the hole is not particularly deep.


My dilemma is what to do with his other tooth. It has a bigger hole but isn't actually causing him any discomfort and based on our experience with the filled tooth only being a problem after being "treated", im tempted to leave this tooth alone.

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

I think you need to let the dentist advise whether to fill or leave alone. It will depend on the tooth's lifespan and whether the decay is spreading etc

[frazzledandcaffeinated]

I'd love to hear how you got on, as I appreciate this was a few years ago now. We have had a similar experience. Cap fitting was actually very unpleasant and painful for my son (autistic), and fell out after 3 days. We haven't been offered a filling as she said that would involve local anaesthetic and drilling, like adult fillings, but the posts here suggest otherwise? We've been told there is no other option. I am loathe to put my son through it if we need to repeatedly have it refitted. Would like some advice. Also isn't carefully applied numbing spray an option for kids, like the sore throat spray, just to take the edge off?! My son does have pain when he is biting and when he rubs them together, but is a tooth grinder....

[frazzledandcaffeinated]

PS. Ofc we're not going to leave it without treatment as I believe the cavity is big enough to warrant the cap. But fairly annoyed we weren't warned about the pain, caps are apparently often tight and uncomfortable... also are the dental coatings for kids no longer a thing?