18yo DS and the dentist

[CampaignToo]

So, none of us have been for a while, since before lockdown.

I'm well aware DS's dental hygiene isn't as good as it should be and that he eats far too many sweets and has far too many fizzy drinks. But he's 18 and there's only so many time you can tell him. During his childhood, he was taught to brush twice a day and fizzy drinks were for special occasions. I tried.

Anyway, by some miracle he's never had a filling. I was booking my check up and booked him one at the same time. I know, he's an adult and should be doing it himself, i know full well he wouldn't.

He went in first, came out and told me all good, but he needs to brush more. I went in and dentist gave me a prescription for a special toothpaste to deal with the erosion caused by his "serious fizzy drink habit".

She said "I know he's an adult, but you're still mum".

I'm torn between thinking she shouldn't be telling me medical information he doesn't want me to know and she's right, if she hadn't told me he wouldn't have collected the prescription.

What do you think?

Early signs are he's using the toothpaste, the first pack was opened after I'd gone to bed last night. We shall see about the fizzy drink habit.

Is the toothpaste a white tube with a red line and either 5000 or 2800?

My dentist recommends that for all the children, so it's not too much to worry about.

Tbf it does seem to be down to genetics rather than anything else. Dh hardly ever has fizzy, and has bad teeth, whereas I have a bit of a habit and hardly have a filling. Unfortunately dd who has dental phobia bad enough to need sedation, takes after dh.

Yes, it's the 5000. I'm not worried, it's just a "conversation point" about the medical confidentiality.

Dentist says she uses it despite no problems, although it is only on prescription. Presumably there's a reason for that?

I'm guessing it's a dentist you've seen as a family for a while? The dentist giving you a prescription isn't the same really as medical info like a Doc so I wouldn't stress over it. I feel sure I will be doing this for my ds(currently 15) for a while as well after turning 18. Kids need nudges and if they still live at home then we will still be Mum doing the nudging.

Meh, my DC are always prescribed the toothpaste and your his mum and we're with him. I get worked up about lots of things, but not this.

You’re absolutely right that legally the dentist should not have given you any information about your adult son without his express permission (perhaps he gave it?).

To be honest though, I have alarm bells about the prescription of Duraphat. It is simply a high fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is indicated ONLY for the prevention of dental caries (decay), not erosion or sensitivity or any of the other reasons some dentists seem to think up. In reality it’s prescription on FP10D should be restricted to people at high risk of decay for various reasons (and dentists with outlying prescribing patterns can and do get audited). However it can be prescribed privately - in reality simply sold by the dental practice. But really it does nothing more than regular fluoride concentrations to prevent erosion, and cannot rebuild enamel lost to erosion. The only thing which will really help in cases of erosion is stopping the intake of acidic food drink. If acidic items are consumed, it is essential not to brush the teeth for a minimum of 30 minutes afterwards, but preferably longer, especially if erosion already exists.

Sorry, it’s a bugbear of mine, because it does end up costing the NHS money, which is fine when it’s used appropriately but.... annoying when it isn’t.

Well, you decided to book his appointment and go with him so the dentist can be forgiven for maybe thinking she needs to talk to you for some reason.