my dd's teeth are decayed and I am so worried.

[chocolateicecream]

I have come back from taking my dd to a dentist appointment today and feel completely fed up.

My dd is 6 and has horrible teeth that are covered in black spots. She has already had to have one tooth removed because it was significantly decayed, resulting in several painful abscesses. Another two teeth are rotting and she currently has an abscess on the surrounding gum.

Every time we visit the dentist we are in and out in five minuets. The first thing that she said to me today was 'so how is the sugar going?'.
I quizzed her about the state of my dd's teeth. The dentist is convinced that her decay is down to too much sugar in her diet. She advised me that my dd should not go any less than three hours between eating (so how does this work in pre-schools and schools where children receive snacks and there are no opportunities for them to brush their teeth).

The dentist asked if my dd was bottle fed, assuming that this was a possible cause of her decay. I explained that she has never had a bottle, and has only ever drank from a proper cup. The dentist then told me that breast milk is very sugary and this may have been the problem. The dentist then said that from birth babies should not go less than three hours between feeds. I did dispute this and her comeback was that she herself had always done this and that her children's teeth have no decay. If she thinks that I am responsible for allowing my child's teeth to rot then why has she never made attempts to refer me to the dental hygienist? I asked her why my dd's teeth are so bad when I know other children with nice teeth who's parents were far less strict over their dental health. She just answered 'It's caused by diet and bacteria build up'.

I have always made a huge effort to care for my dd's teeth. She was not allowed sweets until quite recently and still does not eat that many. Her teeth are brushed three times a day and she has a healthy diet (I am aware that sugar is in so many things). I know other mums who have given their children sugary drinks, frequent sweet/snacks etc. and their teeth are fine.

What I want to know is why are my dd's teeth so susceptible to tooth decay? Yes I know that bacteria damages teeth, maybe my dd's teeth cope less with bacterial exposure? I did have hyperemisis through my whole pregnancy, I often wonder if this has had an impact on her teeth. I am so worried because some of her adult teeth have erupted and that there is risk of damage to these teeth :( .

Can anyone else relate to this, or shed any light on this one??

Many thanks

My first advice is that you NEED to change your dentist! Yours is talking rubbish and being no support whatsoever.
I don't know too much else on the subject but you don't sound as if you're doing anything wrong so try a different practitioner

What a pile of crap your dentist is spouting!! I 2nd Hilly's advice - find a new dentist quick-smart! Especially she already has adult teeth erupting. You want whatever is going on dealt with before the adult teeth are affected

I have no advice on how to deal with the rot though, other than more frequent brushing but leaving at least 20/30 mimns after eating as otherwise you can possibly cause more damage apparently

thanks for posting hillyhilly and Imnotaslimjim, am so upset right now. Better get the phone book out and start rinning round.

agree change your dentist.
Can I ask if she was fed any soya milk?
When my dd came off the breast she went onto soya formula and that apparently caused the holes and decay in her teeth.
Like you I really looked after her teeth, but that was what I was told years afterwards though.

Dont feel too bad. My ds1 baby teeth came through quite late and by the time he was 6/7 they were like your dc's teeth. Ds had a good diet and brushed teeth daily so i didn't understand. However I got a really good dentist and he told me that some childrens baby teeth are just weaker than others and no amount of healthy diet or brushing is going to change the fact, and they will be more susceptible to decay. Now my ds has all his big teeth in and they are all perfectly healthy, and we have never had any problems.

My dentist said that it is partly genetics/you - I have very slender teeth with thin enamel and that my teeth are just rubbish dental hygiene is a factor but not the full story.

Are you aware that the acid in fruit juice and dried fruit are particularly bad, raisins as a snack is worse than chocolate apparantly as they stick to the teeth and erode them away. Certainly after fruit you should leave 30 means before brushing etc.

Def change your dentist.

Hi mama12. My dd did drink soya milk from about the age of 3 but did not have anything other than water or breast milk up until that point.
I recon that whatever we mums do there will always be something to say that what we did was not right :(.

You know, some kids just have bad teeth..it happens, nothing to do with brushing, sweets etc it just happens..don't feel bad x

Just wanted to mark my place to see if any good advice is forth coming.

Any dentists on MN/

I am vary wary of sugar etc in my toddlers diet as I had many fillings as a child and I really want them to have healthy teeth.

I have crap teeth. I used to get told I must be rubbish at caring for them horrible dentists caused a serious dental phobia which is only being cured now. Nice new dentist says its mainly genetics and luck and that I actually look after them well

Hi rootietootie, thanks for sharing your reassuring story :), RandomMess, thanks also, I do worry about the fruit in her diet but I let her have it due to its health benefits. I try to only give her fruit when she is having something that will fill her up for a few hours. I am worried about brushing her teeth too often due to damaging her gums.

I posted this thread in another area and got this response from a dentist.

hi, dentist here. first of all please dont be upset. what your dentist had told you is actually true. it has been shown that repeated exposure to sugar increases the risk of decay which is why it is ideal to have 3 hour gaps between food. however i know this is ideal and not always possible with kids especially in early days of breastfeeding.

also hyperemesis wouldnt affect your dd's teeth only yours if very excessive.

basically decay is caused by poor diet ie lots of sugary snacks and bacteria. now it is true some people do seem to get decay quicker than others i have siblings with same diet one has lots of holes one none. we dont know why this is.

the most any parent can do is be vigilant about diet and sensible obviously the odd treat is fine. also regular brushing.

also breastmilk is very sugary and extensive decay can be a problem in extended breastfeeding.

is your dd due to have more teeth out at all? maybe under GA?

hope that has helped a bit!

hi you have posted this in breastfeeding too, i have replied to you on there. hope it helps!

some kids are born with weak teeth and their parents go through hell for it, some are born with with weak eyes and their parents get them glasses. stop beating yourself up and get a new dentist. absolutely this problem must be addressed, but blaming you is not achieving anything.

ah i see you have copy and pasted me. btw you will not damage gums by overbrushing unless you are too forceful. you havent said if my advice was helpful?

My dentist said that from the age of six my children should brush and floss twice daily and also have an alcohol mouth wash at a different time from the brushing. A regime like that might help?

Some people do just have lousy teeth. My mum broke a tooth on semolina pudding!

As an adult I know have a sonicare toothbrush with a teeny tiny brush head and that has made the biggest difference in my dental care, cleans much better than the oral B elecric toothbrush. Also I was told to not rinse my mouth after brushing teeth - just spit.

yummytummy that is really interesting that breastmilk is so sugary crazy that something natural can actually damage another part of your body, what is the difference to formula (from a mum who BF)
Do you brush your teeth after every meal? I have American friends with lovely teeth who do this

I'm also a dentist and agree with the one you quoted above.

breastmilk and formula can both cause decay. thats why they recommend going to a beaker from 12 months ideally. no, dont brush after every meal! but that would be the ideal. americans do seem to be better at flossing and oral hygiene though, dont know why.

Thanks for the post yummytummy, am welcoming all help right now. On the whole my dd has always had a pretty much text book diet. Has any research been done to rule out any link between hyperemisis and childhood tooth decay?

I once watched a science thing on telly that explained that bad bacteria can be transferred from us to our children, for example by sharing a spoon (taking it in turns when feeding the baby 'one for mummy, one for you'). So if a mother has decay she can pass this on to the child.

Maybe dentists reading this can confirm or deny this theory? I would be quite interested.

So to have nicer teeth I need to brush teeth at least twice a day, floss and use a non alcoholic mouthwash. What about not drink tea, wine etc? which is unlikely to happen

Also at what age should children first visit a dentist? I think i'm going to Youtube google to see if there is a how to brush your teeth properly clip. Honestly both my parents have crap teeth, mine are allright but full of fillings (at least now I've changed them to white fillings) and I really want my girls to have lovely teeth

Sorry for thread highjack OP

A friend of mine had a dd with very 'soft' teeth. Apparently this was caused by her having an extremely high temp and ending up in hospital. The high temp 'did something' to her teeth. It sounds mad but my friend is very reliable. I cannot recall what it was called [rubbish! Sorry] but could that be a factor in your case? Your dental routine sounds excellent so I don't think you should blame yourself.

I should think it's too complicated and genetics play a part etc

At LaVitaBellissima, just seen this on the other post, you might find this interesting?

www.llli.org/nb/nbsepoct02p164.html