AIBU to feel cheated about DD's teeth? (Pic included)

[Notplannedforthis]

DD9 has come home from school upset that another DC has been making remarks about her "rotten teeth".

DD has yellow/brown discoloration on her front teeth and I can't fathom why.

She doesn't like sweets or fruit, never drinks fruit juice or pop, didn't have a dummy, didn't have bottles, eats a mostly healthy diet, had fluoride treatments and regular dentist appointments up until the pandemic, we brush her teeth twice a day in quadrants using an electric tooth brush.

We've tried so hard to keep her teeth healthy. AIBU to be annoyed that despite this, DD is still having to put up with comments about her teeth? Why on earth are they brown?

My niece's teeth were very discoloured because she spent most of her early years on antibiotics - could that be a factor?

Your poor niece. I think DD had Amoxicillin once as a toddler.

Poor girl. Dentist can sort it out.

What has the dentist said?

My daughter has patchy enamel, most likely due to certain antibiotics as a toddler. She has some orangey marks and some bleached white patches, the dentist said the patchy enamel has a higher risk of decay.
Am hoping they can be whitened to a more uniform colour once she is older, as it bothers her a lot 😖

Did you have chickenpox or other virus whilst pregnant with her? I had a friend who had that and her daughter has similar.

Amoxicillin can cause tooth discolouration.

Did you have antibiotics when you were pregnant with her? I agree the dentist should be able to sort it. My cousin had similar and dentist out a thin layer of white filling in the top. He said it’ll wear off and need redoing every few years I think. There are more permanent but much more expensive options, that she could maybe have done when she’s older.

Does she eat a lot of citrus fruit? Also bad for enamel.

You say she’s had flouride treatments. This looks a lot like dental flourosis - too much flouride while teeth are developing, albeit mild.

I'm a hygienist and to me that just looks like staining that will come off with a polish at the dentist. Can't say for definite what has caused it and I don't want to say 100% it'll come off but looking at the picture I'm pretty sure it will.

This is almost certainly related to some sort of damage that occurred before the teeth came in. A whole range of medications can cause this, and some forms of trauma too. Excess flouride can also darken teeth.

Chat to the dentist, they'll have a solution.

A friend, who had childhood epilepsy, had terribly discoloured teeth due to their antiepileptic medication. As an adult, they've had some treatment and their teeth look great now.

I thought it could be caused by too much fluoride (fluorosis) and tends to be quite common in the UK as fluoride is added to tap water.

Our dentist has only just started seeing patients again. We were due her annual check up last April so it's now been nearly 2 years since we were there!

We have an appointment on Monday, so I'm really hoping they can offer something.

I didn't have antibiotics in pregnancy. I did have codeine due to SPD.

Hypermineralisation. 1 in 5 adults in the UK have it.

It can be a sign of some types of anemia. My teeth are always yellow.

DD had to have a filling in one of his baby teeth, I was mortfied. The dentist showed me mottling on his teeth, and said it probably occurred when I was pregnant, maybe I had a cold or other illness when his teeth were developing.

I had a lot of illnesses as a young child (pretty much constant ear infections from a few months of age until 6, glandular fever, rubella twice, you name it - and lots of antibiotics). When my adult teeth came through there was a discoloured orangey/brown and white patch on one of my front teeth, and a white patch on the other. Over the years the white patch has faded, but the orangey/brown one is still there. Funnily enough I don't notice it now, only when I go to a new dentist and they spend the first few mins trying to scrub it off . The overall condition of my teeth is good (I'm late 40s and have 2 fillings) which is something to be grateful for.

When DD is older if she's still self conscious about it cosmetic dentistry is far more widely available than it was when I was young, there will be lots of options for her.

Hi OP, my daughter has the same and yes it's often as a result of penicillin taken when they're tiny. No one tells you that! It's called hypo mineralisation (or maybe hyper?). My DD needs to keep a close eye on her back teeth as the enamel is v weak, we had to visit an orthodontist to see if we should have any removed. She advised it wasn't necessary thank goodness. Def talk to the dentist next time you visit - I asked about my daughter's front teeth last time I was there and was told they can get better as they get older, and if not then there are whitening options once they're old enough. Good luck x

It looks simply like surface staining. Is your daughter a mouth breather?

Could be fluorosis, I've got it and was also bullied at school as a result.

But fluoride gives you strong teeth so I'm now 40 and only have 2 fillings and 1 cap with the cap and one filling due to dental injuries rather than decay.

The reason I have it was because the health visitor, who had moved from another area, insisted I should be given fluoride drops as a baby/ young child despite living in the Cotswolds where the water is naturally high in fluoride, so I ended up having double the dose.

I can't say I've noticed whether she's a mouth breather.

She uses a brown inhaler twice a day. We wash her mouth out immediately afterwards.

My son has this.. dentist told me it was formed in womb. He was iugr. More prone to decay so we visit dentist regularly. Dentist is going to try an abrasion thing next time to see if it's only surface deep

@Notplannedforthis

I can't say I've noticed whether she's a mouth breather.

She uses a brown inhaler twice a day. We wash her mouth out immediately afterwards.

Hyper mineralisation is really common in children with asthma, and in babies who needed oxygen at birth.

@StCharlotte

My niece's teeth were very discoloured because she spent most of her early years on antibiotics - could that be a factor?

Same. I have stripy teeth because of early years on antibiotics before they identified the cause of an issue