DS to have 3 fillings tomorrow!!!!!

[passmyglassplease]

I am pulling my hair out!

he brushes his teeth twice a day, I generally do the evening brushing with him.

as he is an asthmatic he takes inhaled steroids which can not be stopped.

unfortunately he was born with my genetics re teeth

I really need to get this situation under control and have decided the only way is to drastically reduce his exposure to sugar.

What is the best natural sugar substitute?

and does anyone out there have any ideas how I may improve the health of his teeth apart from proper brushing of course!

Not snacking is really important. After you've eaten, your mouth produces saliva which has tooth-repairing enzymes in them. If you snack, the enzymes never really get a chance to do anything to the teeth.

Also don't forget that just because something is 'natural' doesn't mean it won't decay teeth. Fruit juice is very sugary and acidic, so I would cut down on that.

Has he got an electric toothbrush, or is he too small?

You need to steer clear of fruit juice, its notorious for causing decay especially between in the areas where the teeth meet. Fizzy is another corrosive substance, so stay away from that too.
You cannot improve the health of his teeth, if there has been damage then its not reversible, sadly. Good brushing and good diet is key and the use of floss, if possible. I got my DD flossing as soon as she has adult teeth, she wasn't very good at it but it sets a good president.
I hope tomorrow goes really well for him.

Can I recommend that he gives his mouth a very thorough rinse after using hi steroid inhaler . This should help a bit.

thanks for the replies, he is 10 years old

he tends to only have sugar/chocolate after his evening meal although he does have a chocolate bar in his lunch box

we do not have any fizzy drinks in the house, and limited fruit juice although that will now be replaced with water only

I think he will feel deprived if I don't enclose a treat in his lunch box and he hates all those fruit bar healthy things, dentist says crisps might be an idea instead of the chocolate, but I am not so sure.

thanks karkiss, I always ensure that he brushes his teeth after his inhaler to reduce the impact on his mouth health.

as far as I can see there is very little I can do now apart from sugar reduction

I had fissure sealing (not sure if that is the correct spelling) as a child and it seems to have worked well in that now as an adult I have only a couple of fillings. My brother had it too and he is the same. Might be worth looking into.

Apparently crisps are not very good either, as the starch fuses to your teeth and is harder to get off. What about a yoghurt? Or maybe cut the sugar in the evening and have chocolate in the lunchbox?

yes my dd has fantastic teeth and they are fed on the same diet!

seems unfair on him

on the upside he inherited my nose, my dd inherited her fathers - very unfortunate for her

he had to have 2 injections, bless him he is still shaking!

we are off to a picnic with friends and we have no sweet treats with us, start as we mean to go on in our new way of life.