Bloody hell, alarming advice about preventing tooth decay in your children.

[RockLover]

I've just discovered that I need a root canal and another filling (that makes 7 at 36 years old) and it's prompted me to look for advice in caring for my children's teeth and what I read has been terrifying.

According to all advice it should start when a baby is in the womb and if the woman eats a high sugar diet when pregnant the child will be more prone to tooth decay. Both my pregnancies were blighted by hyperemesis (DD, 6) and constant nausea for 9 months with DS (12 weeks) and as a result my diet was horrific (biscuits and fizzy drinks constantly, it's all I could tolerate)! I am completely panicked now that I have ruined my children's dental health before they have even started out in life.

Also DD does have a fondness for sweet things (including fruit) which according to all the advice, they shouldn't be eating, they should be sticking to savoury foods that don't have natural sugars in. DD's teeth have been fine so far and she didn't have any cavities at her last check-up, she is due another check up next week and I am hoping against hope everything is still ok. Some dentists recommend that children get sealants on their teeth, has anyone on here had this done for their child and at what age was it done?

I have three children, all got sealants on their back adult teeth when they erupted (as is standard in ireland). They are 19, 17 and 14 and have no fillings. I have fillings in all my back teeth, except the three with crowns - I had NHS dentistry done by a maniac as a teenager, Two of my teenagers scrub their teeth twice a day, one is a once a day cleaner as she has 'no time in the morning'. They eat more sweets than is good for them in my opinion.

i think it somewhat depends on how naturally strong your teeth are. I love sweets, I only ever brushed my teeth once a day (if that ) throughout my childhood. i have only ever had one filling. Most of the dentists I have had comment on how lovely my teeth are, and several have said that I am lucky to have naturally good teeth, you can be unlucky and just have bad teeth no matter how well you look after them.
My children have had the sealant on, some dentists seem to do it automatically and some don't bother.
DD was about 13 I think when she had it and DS about the same.
My dad has terrible teeth. He now only has 12 left and has spent £1,000's on them, although he always refused dentures as they are for old people (he's 79!). His mum was terrified of dentists and he never went to one till he was 21!

Sorry, but how does eating sweet things during pregnancy cause tooth decay in your unborn child's later life? That makes no sense. The sugar can't cross the placenta and damage their developing teeth

I'm sure you won't have done any damage that way, OP, please don't beat yourself up about this scaremongering.

Sugars will cause decay, including fruit sugars, but as long as you are sensible - enforcing tooth brushing, etc, it's really unlikely to be a major problem. Children naturally prefer sweet flavours, it's in their make up! Other things you can do to help are limiting sticky foods such as raisins (chocolate is actually better than raisins as it doesn't stick to the teeth), limit fruit juices to mealtimes only, and/or water them down, avoid fizzy drinks except for on occasion, give them foods like cheese and raw carrots which will help the teeth, but most of all, relax. Can you imagine how boring life would be if you could only ever eat savoury foods??

The sealant thing is unusual, sounds promising, but my dentist couldnt' stop laughing when I tried to ask for her opinion.

Honestly OP, I wouldn't worry about the past. Just do the best from the starting point where you are now.

In the UK, we are advised to seal the teeth of children who have had decay in their baby teeth. I have only been qualified six years OP (after 5 years of training) and I have never heard of this sugar during pregnancy thing. Where did you hear it? I really am intrigued because I cannot think of a mechanism whereby it could have an effect on DCs teeth. PM me to let me know if you don't want to say where you read/found the info.

Don't fret because IMO, it's bollocks.

Meant to say "but I have never heard"....

Here is what I saw www.videojug.com/film/how-to-prevent-tooth-decay-long-term.

I wonder if it is just a correlation - women who eat sweet stuff while pregnant are probably more likely to eat it the rest of the time and hence pass those habits onto their children.

I had HG and was the same as you with a crap diet while pregnant but I don't have a sweet tooth generally and we are strict with dcs about sweet things; I'm sure that's more important than what I did when I was pg.

I think Fruitshootsandheaves may be right about genetic inheritance playing a large part. Do your parents still have good teeth? If they do, it bodes well for you, providing you look after them (your teeth, not your parents!).

I've never heard of that either Grumpystiltskin (been qualified 8 years). Sounds like a load of old tosh.

My dentist isn't keen on the sealants as he says if the seal isn't a perfect fit decay can start underneath but not be detected until late stage.

I'd be interested to know if this is true, as my younger DCs have both had decay in their baby teeth, as did I. We seem to be victims of that weak teeth syndrome.

Just watched the video - don't know where he gets the info that decay is a disease affecting the young and 'fades out after 30'. I spend plenty of my time treating people older than this.

Teeth can be a nightmare. I am 45 and now have a false top plate for back teeth. It's taken well into my 40s for a dentist to say "do you realise you are a tooth grinder". Apparently at night I grind my teeth which is why they are in such a state. I now have a mouth guard to wear at night.

We ate loads of sugary rubbish as children and I don't have a single filling (never had one in my baby teeth either). What we DIDN'T have, however, is fizzy drinks. Which I think is actually the secret.

Things like viruses contracted when pregnant can affect feature tooth health of unborn babies but I still don't get how maternal diet could in the way it's suggested.

And not all savoury food is necessarily good. Crisps, for example can be awful for teeth.

Both my children had sealants at a young age, baby and adult teeth I believe....but it was a very long time ago, difinitely for the adult teeth (maybe not baby ). Free on the NHS at the time and neither had fillings until they were adults. My DS diet consisted of a lot of sweet things as he got older and had pocket money !!

I really don't see how what you eat in pregnancy would affect your childs teeth.

Both my dd's have suffered with tooth decay and it's certainly not for lack of brushing their teeth and I'm certainly not convinced it was anything to do with what I ate or drank in pregnancy.

Dd1 had to get two teeth from each side at the back on the bottom jaw taken out when she was 4 as they had just crumbled away and she was limited in her intake of sweets and juice and her teeth were brushed twice a day.

Dd2 is going into hospital next week for exactly the same thing the only difference is that the teeth being extracted are on the top jaw. Again her sweet and juice intake is limited and her teeth are brushed twice a day and on school days they also brush their teeth in class so, for most of the week, she actually brushes 3 times a day.

Yet she still has some tooth decay which I feel awful about and the dentist who will be removing the teeth made me feel really bad as if it was all my fault and I was a bad mother. But seeing as dd2 has no other tooth decay on any other teeth and our own dentist says that her brushing is excellent I don't see how it could be my fault. If dd2 ate sweets and fizzy drinks for 3 meals a day and never ever brushed her teeth fair enough but she does brush and is limited in sweets etc and yet still has decay.

It has to be down to genetics, my brother has terrible teeth always did have I however have the odd filling but nothing as bad as my brother,who now has some false teeth as his were so bad.

My DC see a top private dentist (I think the only specialist children's dentist in London) - both had sealant and have no fillings in permanent teeth into their mid to late teens now.

I understand that tooth decay is caused by dental bacteria (munching on sugar left on teeth). How bad decay is depends not only on the natural health of the teeth (strength of enamel etc which you can improve with fluoride) but also on the type of bacteria that populates your mouth. Apparently once a bacterium takes hold, you have that one for life, and the majority of DC (not sure of exact figure) get their mother's - I guess we have all done that thing of cleaning a dummy by sucking it ourselves, or tasting food from baby's spoon. I WISH I had known that earlier as I have rotten teeth so must have bad bacteria which no doubt I passed on. I read a few years back of plans to deliberately infect young children with a genetically modified form of the bacterium which would cause no decay.

Linnet I feel for you. My DD was the same (hence the move to the private dentist) - at 5 years old, she had to have 6 steel caps and the dentist simply didn't believe me when I said that she had NEVER (not once, ever) had fizzy drinks. She gave me a lecture on eating sugar in words of one syllable etc as if I was some kind of uneducated moron and simply refused to believe that it wasn't due to my neglect. In fact DD had had the same (reasonably sugar free) diet as her sibling who had perfect dentition. I reckon it might have been because she was sick (as in vomit) a lot when she was 4 due to an illness. You can only do your best.

Oh, I agree with others that eating sugar whilst PG can't possibly cause tooth decay (although it might in some way affect the formation of the teeth, I suppose, but can't think how).

God, I wish I'd know that as well, Indifferent. I have dreadful teeth (interestingly, my mum always says mine are like her mum's who 'had them all taken out and false ones put in' when she was 30 - think you could opt to do that on the NHS then. Plus we lived with her until I was about three and I know she looked after us a lot).

My DCs all had fillings in their baby teeth despite brushing; DD and DS2 have both had extractions. At first, my dentist made me feel as if I had 'bad mother' stamped on my forehead, but subsequently he admitted that some people are more vulnerable to decay than others.

And we all give the lie to the belief that discolouration is a sign of stronger enamel.

My DD age 11 has teeth that are 'chalky' and according to the dentist it happened while they were growing in my womb. Apparently because of my poor diet during severe morning sickness.

Her teeth literally chip away and fall apart.

My DGS (2.5) is top trumps in the tooth department. He had severe IUGR and when his baby teeth came through they disintigrated because of enamel hypoplasia and all of them had to be taken out. He has since grown 3 molars and they look fine so far, so hopefully his adult teeth will come through ok as the molars developed after the front ones.

He is quite happy though and manages to chew toast!

I have had a fairly normal diet (tho no juice as a child for economy reasons!) and never had a filling aged 31. Actually we were probably brought up on a low sugar diet but really for reasons of being careful with money more than teeth! And I never used to clean my teeth as a child! So think maybe it's luck?

IMO brushing is over-rated. I probably only brush my teeth 3 times a week and my teeth are fine. I haven't been to a dentist for 14 years. BUT I am obsessive about flossing. I cant bear the feeling of plaque on my teeth so take floss with me everywhere.

Also I have a high calcium diet (lots of milk and raw cheese) which may not be good for my waistline but is good for my teeth.

DH (& his sister) both have really good teeth, he's never had a filling, despite years of eating/drinking crap & not brush

DH (& his sister) both have really good teeth, he's never had a filling, despite years of eating/drinking crap & not brushing his teeth regularly (he told me after we were married that he only started brushing them twice a day after we'd started going out! Eeeeewwww!)

I on the other hand have always brushed my teeth twice a day, & generally don't eat/drink crap & still have loads of fillings My dentist says my teeth are a funny shape so I can easily get food stuck in-between them, and that they are quite weak so it doesn't take much for decay to set in.

I really, really hope the DDs get his teeth, not mine!