Should I allow 13 teeth to be pulled for a 6 year old?

[TreeHuggerMum1]

Quick summary, DS stopped developing at 32 weeks, was born by emergency section at 34 weeks and has suffered with reflux ever since.
As a result he has quite poor teeth. At a dentist visit recently they said he need one filling, my little boy wouldn't let them do it and so the dentist said they would refer him to a child's dentist for assessment.
At child's dentist I have just been told his teeth are in a shooing state and there is no pint trying to save the tooth, they recommend removing the tooth alright under GA at the local hospital , however 12 other teeth have minor (two major) damage and will need to be pulled out too. I was mortified and incredibly angry. I said there must be a mistake, we are here for one tooth and she said hospital policy is to remove any damaged teeth while the child is under GA to save them having to have them removed under a further GA at a later date.

I have said no, that I want them filled and repaired and they don't think my son will allow them to do this. I have asked can he fillings under the GA and this is apparently too time consuming and so it is better if he just has 13 removed to make way for adult teeth.
I asked if could have just two or 3 out and they said no. All or nothing.
I'm lost, devastated and have no idea what to do for the best.
I went in there for one filling and now they want to take 13 teeth away, he's only 6!

Five perhaps you should actually come and visit a clinic list and make an informed opinion. Or actually look at the example diets that kids have which lead to these procedures being absolutely routine and 150 kids on the waiting list

Yes Mrsmorton - 4 adult molars have cut already and are healthy and fine (thank God). We were told we had to see a nutrition specialist and after half an hour of being grilled agreed it was more than likely reflux.

Does he still have bad reflux?

That's a lot of teeth to lose in one go. It does seem extreme. The impact on a child's life from having that many teeth removed in one go isn't one to take lightly, and op, I'd feel just like you do.

I don't believe you're a bad mom for a moment, like pp said, you'd just shrug at the news. I'd be getting a second opinion or asking to meet again with the hospital dentist to go through it more thoroughly with you...after all it's a big thing you'd be signing up for. I imagine though, given that two other dentists have been on and said the same, they're right and it's about coming round to the idea.

and best of luck to you and your ds.

Yes reflux is still an issue even now at 6. GP says "he'll outgrow it".
I've rung our original dentist and asked for an appointment to go over it all.
Trying to explain to my little boy what's going on and he says he doesn't want to go to hospital and can he try again. Heartbreaking

An appointment is a good idea. I don't know how it is where you are but we have a picture book to show kids with pics of the hospital and what happens etc on the day. Its helpful as takes away some of the worry

Five. "Extreme, savage" really? The most common cause for ga in kids in this country is for extraction of teeth. Extractions due to decay which is 9 times out of 10 preventable. As far as i know dental ga is done in many countries
Yes, GA is common in children. Extacting 13 teeth, no. AndTHAT is extreme and savage. I'm amazed most of you consider this within normality...

I don't think this is common in other countries because I have lived in other countries, I know quite a few children there and also here in Spain, and no, never heard of any child having lots of teeth that could be fixed, removed in one go. Many dentists will work on children under GA because in some cases it is the only way, but the tendency is to SAVE teeth, even baby teeth, rather than pull them.

mrsD is almost an Expert in tricky dentistry for children [proud]

Good then. Keep up the good work. I'm still horrified.

You being horrified doesn't change the reality of the essential work we do which as i said is largely preventable. Again come and see the list and take your extreme and savage elsewhere

And fyi the average number of teeth taken per child can be close to 10 so that number is routine and is the case in all hospitals in the uk with a dental service

I'm also a dentist and agree with yummy and Mrs M. We don't pull teeth out without good reason. The risk of a repeat GA is too great to take.

I'm in Ireland and know of 5 (3 of them from dds Yr1 class) children who have had multiple/all remaining baby teeth removed under GA.

My DS had fillings in 3 teeth when he was 3 years old. We saw a dentist who specialises in working with young children and individuals with special needs. The treatment was quite time consuming as the first 3 appointments were just getting used to the dentist, chair equip etc. Is there anything like this in your area?

Oh OP, it must be very difficult, I think any mum would be shocked but don't be hard on yourself.. His adult teeth are fine and the others will come through soon. I'm sure it wouldn't be advised if it wasn't for a reason, dental pain is hell (I suffered badly as a child) and GA is not something you'd want done repeatedly so maybe it's for the best.

Thank you for all the replies. I've called around this morning. Original dentist (that said only one filling is needed) has agreed to see him tomorrow and will try and do what she can. She will have one more try at a filling but if he refuses there will be nothing more they can do

I had 10 teeth removed to try to stave off the need for braces. All the teeth were healthy. But I had all 10 removed in a mobile dental unit parked in the playground of our school, without GA. I don't recall my mother being there at all! I remember having many needles in the roof of my mouth. I was fascinated with the long roots on the teeth, and I kept them in a collection for many years (morbid kid!). I have very nice teeth now...and I did end up having braces.
Now I come to think of it, why the hell did my parents agree to that!! They were all healthy teeth. They clearly were worried about the cost of braces...

Black, they were probably a combination of primary (baby) teeth and secondary (adult) teeth.

If the primary teeth aren't budging then they need to get fucking going and I've never heard of anyone having more than six secondary teeth removed for braces and that's fucking EXTREME. So y'know, if you've got nice teeth now, prob all for the best.

People are fixated on dentists doing as much work as we fucking can, I've got candy crush on my phone as well. Just sayin... fuck off cos I can't get past level 126 wouldn't mind if no one needed any treatment.

I'm also a dentist who does these lists

Another thing not mentioned is how often our referrals say, please extract this one painful tooth - and when we do a full assessment there are several decayed teeth, but this has not previously been communicated at all adequately to the parents.

We are then the bad guy who has to break the awful news that
a) GA carries a risk and is a last resort option
b) we do not want your child to have a risk of needed a second dental extraction GA experience
c) treatment planning for GA is radical to avoid repeats, so any teeth which we feel may cause pain before they are naturally lost are extracted

Many times parents like yourself come to me under the impression they are there to have the one tooth sorted, and I have to tell them they need much more extensive treatment, but hand on heart I fully believe it is in their best interest and that's why I propose it.

And this 'extreme, savage' occurrence Five, is the most common reason for children's hospital admissions in the UK BY MILES.

Try not to be heart broken, if his tonsils needed removing would you feel the same?

So we went back to the original dentist and they've had a really good look. Basically they've put a "plaster" on the tooth but not a proper filling. This temp patch can last anywhere between a couple of weeks and 6-9 months.
They've said he suffers with dental anxiety and he needs sedating for any further appointments. They've said to take him to the GP and say he has dental anxiety and ask for a child's dose of diazepam or something similar and then they would consider trying again to do the one filling. They stand firm that it is just one filling. They feel that a child with dental anxiety should not be put under a GA and have 13 teeth removed. They do not feel this is in his best interests. They said that it could potentially put him off visiting the dentist for the rest of his life.
Not the best outcome but they are in agreement that 13 extractions is way too severe and isn't necessary.
In their words, hopefully this patch will last 6 months while he gains some confidence and can get help with his anxiety and then hopefully the tooth will become mobile on its own.
I am so relieved that I wasn't railroaded into such a drastic course of action.

I had 14 teeth removed under GA at age 7 due to dental decay. (My grandmother used to insist on putting a spoon of sugar in my bottle when she was minding me while my mother was out helping my Dad on the farm. ) Granted this was almost 30 years ago, but I can't imagine it was done frivolously. I did get a new colouring book out of it though, so it wasn't all bad. Oh, and my mother was distraught because I was near enough to my first communion and she was obsessed with shat I would look like in the photos.