To think different races have different teeth?

[DarcyBee]

I ask because DD is mixed race (Oriental/white British) and has just had 3 fillings aged 6. Our other DC's teeth are fine (they are white British) and DH says he has just done a modual at uni on how different races have different tolerance to sugar... I can't find much about it online and was wondering if this is an unreasonable assumption/conclusion and if anyone had any experience of this?

Never heard that one before! Maybe a dentist can advise...

No idea on that question specifically but I have heard that certain indigenous races like Innuit and Aboriginals have a tendency to have a very poor tolerance to alcohol (hence some very high rates of alcoholism in those communities ) so possibly there may be something in your theory.

Bone structure may be different, meaning the teeth themselves could appear different.. but sugar tolerance is more related to insulin/blood and glucose levels rather than the effect it may have on teeth I would have thought.

DH said it is to do with the type of sugar we use in the West, i.e refined sugar and how our bodies cope with it better, unsure if this would have an effect on teeth though

I'm Chinese and I don't have any fillings despite the shocking amount of sweets and fizzy drinks I ate as a child. I was brought up above a takeaway next door to a sweet shop. Dcs don't have fillings either. They are mixed race white.

there are a few racial differences but mostly regarduing shape /crowding
afro- caribbeans are more likely to have spaced teeth and a gap betweeen front teeth their wisdom teeth are more likely to erupt and tend to have a wider smile
crowding problems are most common in asian profiles both indian and chinese groupings

I have not really heard a lot about differences in regard to sugar tolerance, most of above is due to differences in bone structure width of jawbone etc and they are generlisations, but not something i was taught about but some cultures where there was very little natural sugar in diet there was also not an emphasis on manual teeth cleaning either so when sweets arrived from west they ate sweets vocifariously but did not necessarily get oral hygenie along with it ( see poster above re alcohol )

Darcy with all due respect :)

Don't try too hard to find an answer for those 3 fillings ...it happens to the best of us

I know this is mainly from a curiosity point of view ,but you sound like me when my youngest son had to have a mouth of metal.

I did discover that as his Dad is a twin ,something might have mucked up his teeth ...hence my sons.

As I said (on your other thread) chances are your DD second teeth will be fine!

Thanks guys, Feminine yes it's deffo got my goat a bit this evening! Just wondering whether oral hygeine will be enough or if she might have a naturally lower tolerance to sugar, DH mentioned it might be the case

darcy was it her back teeth? :)

They will all start to fall out soon-ish anyway.

If she has got to 6 with just 3 ,you are not doing too badly.

I have seen terrible cases ,tiny ones with caps (like my DS)

Your DH might have a point, thats true!

Yes just the back ones, he said the decay was inbetween the teeth and once they go it's hard to turn it around. I did say that they will be falling out soon and he said they will likely be there for about 4 more years, eek!

baby molars do not normally fall out to 9-11 so have to last another 4 years if extracted early the back teeth can migrate forward and cause crowding later, they can put stainless steel crowns on childrens molars which work really well they don't look pretty but can sell them to kids as bionic teeth but they look a whole lot better than gaps or crooked teeth later

While I do not think it is helpful to beat yourself up no -one can change the past you do need to look at your DD diet and toothbrushing and take advice her teeth may be slightly weaker in which case you have to take greater than average care about diet just like you would if she was diabetic or had a serious allergy.

sorry to disagree with poster above but 3 fillings at 6 is above uk average and OP is right to be concerned and try and change things

to be perfectly honest I would be miored worried about your DD future dental health is you were blase about it than if you feel guilty as now there is an impetus to change good luck with sorting it out and try and get her to see a dental nurse /dentist or hygienist every 4-6 months to get fluoride varnish put on it reduces incidence of decay by about 66% on average

the average number of decayed filled or missing teeth in 5 year olds is just over 1 in uk as a whole more in scotland and northern ireland ( nearer 2 and is 3 in some area)

sarah I agree with a lot of your post :) however, sometimes guilt and worry about the rest of her milk teeth will not do much if it is a generic or weak tooth problem.

This is why op prob feels bad ,as if she could have changed the outcome.

I am interested in your data , as I am in the US ...many of the children here have at least 2 fillings/caps at 5.

All mine see a hygienist every six months ,they have them cleaned and have had a protective coating applied. The dentists here are fantastic and very on the ball...unfortunately due to a genetic problem, my 8 year old will be back in the chair for more repairs on previously 'fixed' baby teeth :(

This post reads like I am nit picking ...I'm not

Feminine children in scandanavia have even better teeth,

igures showed DMFdecayed/missing /filled teeth) in scotland ranged from 1.48 in most affluent areas to 4.98 in the most deprived with average of 2.93. In england, the average was 1.55 approximately 64% of five year olds have no decay as a rule 80% of all decay is seen in just 20% of the child unfortunately long term large studies show that children in the most deprived areas have more than doulbe the nyumber of decayed teeth than in the more affluent areas

there is a very similar thread on just now about someone who feels guilty that her child needed 3 fillings have posted on that too, see if you can find thread

your child may have an enamel defect but these are rare and it needs to be diagnosed if that is the case you will need to severely restrict decay causing food and drink and get extra fluoride. however 95-98% of decay in children is down to diet and lack of brushing

sorry too many typos should be in bed sleeping!!!

sarah its the same poster on that thread:)

My sister has been in Norway 16 years...similar problems there.

My niece (7) just had 4 fillings. :( fantastic diet ,and regular flossing etc...

I have had nothing but support from Dentists here in the US. I have never been made to feel bad. I have been diligent with my children's teeth. Unfortunately my 8 year old has come off worse ,despite the my treating all my 3 children's teeth the same. Fortunately his second teeth are wonderful,no deep grooves and strong:)

Actually I am dreading returning to the UK next year, dreading the fact that dentists (in the main) are unsympathetic and judgmental.My first call is to find a dentist for children actually :)

Thanks ,I didn't notice your typos!

An NHS dentist told me that DS, who is dual heritage (white-black w.african), will lose his baby teeth later than white kids. I don't know if anyone else has heard this, it was news to me. He is now 8 and has only lost 4 baby teeth, and gained 3 adult ones. It does seem that a lot of his peers have already got all their front adult teeth (all of them are white).