DD undergoing sedation for fillings - but dentist wants to remove all remaining baby teeth too as wobbly!

[EvieandCheddar]

Hi, I've read a lot of posts here about this subject, but nothing about the exact situation we've found ourselves in, so I'd appreciate some advice.

I just took my 9-yr-old daughter to the paediatric dentist at our local NHS hospital. She was referred due to dental phobia (more about this below) after trying several different dentists, including a specialist childrens dentist, one certified in anxiety management, and nitrous oxide inhalation. She has one adult molar with a cavity which urgently needs to be filled. She also has two small cavities in baby teeth.

I was expecting that they would do the fillings and any fissure sealant necessary while she was under, but I was shocked when the dentist told me they had to remove ALL of my daughter's remaining 9 baby teeth - but not because they are all rotten. She said they have to come out because they are wobbly and might fall out during the general anaesthetic and get inhaled. The dentist said they are all about to come out anyway and DD might lose some within the 8 weeks between now and the operation, but I'm not so sure about this - my daughter tells me only one of these teeth is actually wobbly.

It seems like it would be very traumatic to lose all these teeth at one time, she would basically have no teeth left on the sides of her mouth - the dentist said it would take about 9 months after extraction for the new ones to come down.

The dentist asked me why my daughter has such bad teeth, and told me she could see evidence that DD had been having acidic drinks before bedtime (which is not the case). I wonder if I've been dismissed as a bad parent who's not looking after her child's teeth, and that is why she is prescribing this radical treatment.

I know I am responsible for the current condition of my daughter's teeth, it's been the most difficult part of her upbringing, as she has consistently refused brushing and toothpaste or mouthwash. She's very sensitive, she hates all the flavours, screams when using mouthwash as it "burns" - and these are the mild kiddie ones (when I moved house I found I had a drawer full of rejected tubes and bottles). However, I have always managed to brush her teeth twice a day, and it has gotten easier since I found a flavourless fluoride toothpaste. Yes she'd had juice and sweets, but never before bed, and she's never gone to bed without cleaning her teeth. Since these issues arose she now only drinks water except special occasions. My teeth are strong but her dad's are very susceptible to decay and unfortunately she appears to have inherited his, not mine:(

Another reason i believe is a cause of her current condition - the dentist I was taking her to up till 3 years ago had been telling me everything was OK, he found a couple of small cavities but said he wouldn't fill them as they were baby teeth and would come out soon anyway. I do have to say, DD was never very cooperative with him, refused even the fluoride treatment... but I trusted him. Then my daughter developed an abscess. I took her to a different dentist who extracted the affected tooth and filled some other cavities, and then two more abscesses developed shortly after that. Two more extractions followed, then this next round of cavities, including the one in her adult molar which was a horrible shock. This was the fourth molar to erupt - the first three got fissure sealant applied and six months later we went back to get the fourth one done as it had just come through, and it already had a hole!

DD's always had a fear of injections, doctors, dentists, vaccinations, anything with a needle, and this terrible experience of multiple tooth extractions and fillings has caused her fear to escalate to the point of total refusal of any treatment, hence the last resort of general anaesethetic. I feel like we don't have any other options, the adult tooth has to be filled, but the loss of the other teeth unnecessarily seems too much.

Sorry this has got long, I feel like I need to explain the whole story. If anyone else has been in a similar situation I would like to hear from you.

Thank you for reading.

Get a second opinion.
When dd3 was 16 months she fell on to a toy she had in her mouth and knocked her four front teeth into her gums.
The hospital ( nhs) dentist said they had to put her under ga and remove all 4.
I refused and was basically classed as a neurotic mother as I was heavily pregnant with ds at the time.
Got a second opinion at private dentist and he said taking them out would be a ridiculous idea due to jaw formation, speech etc.
She's 6 now and they have come down with one twisted but she would have been without her teeth for 4 years by now! Still none wobbly.
Anyway not the same for you but my message is get a second opinion

its quite likely they are loose or nearly ready to go she is 9 after all. soe start orthodontic work with adult teeth at this age.

is there enough for her to chew?

will removing all baby teeth mean adult teeth come through at same time and then can all be covered with a sealant?

you still have to ensure adult teeth are well looked after, will she need orthodontic work?

write a list of your questions and then give them a ring or talk before the op.

I had 10 milk teeth removed at 10yo. They weren't loose but the adult teeth had erupted and had nowhere to go.

I had it done with just nitrous gas. I remember spending a couple of days just lolling on the sofa and living on not-quite hot soup and weetabix for a couple of days. After that I was ok.

I did need a brace afterwards as the adult teeth needed straightening but other than that all was well.

Your DD does need help dealing with her dental phobia though or she's going to have problems her whole life. Can you get her some therapy or something to try and help?

Thanks for your replies, some good advice and reassurance.

Ironically, having spent the day googling the subject and finding nothing about removing wobbly teeth under general anaesthetic, since then I did find corroboration that it is actually standard practice, even if the surgery is on another part of the body, due to the risk of knocking them out and into the windpipe.

Regardless, DD is upset about losing so many teeth at the same time and has said she is willing to try a regular dentist again. So I'm currently trying to find the right one along with some kind of therapy for the anxiety - fingers crossed. Luckily we've got a couple of weeks before the pre-assessment at the hospital, and the op wouldn't happen for about 6 weeks after that, so we have time.

Thanks again everyone who replied, it helped a lot.