DD tooth extraction not sure what to do for the best

[Daydreamsinglorioustechnicolor]

DD aged 8 needs a tooth out due to decay. It is an adult tooth at the back.
The dentist advised that getting it done under sedation would be best and least likely to cause any trauma, but would need a referral to another practice.
Found out today that will be 6 to 8 months time due to covid backlog.
Would you:
a - wait until then (they said obviously if there is pain or swelling they'd do it sooner, but would this probably be in our practice and without sedation?)
b - get it taken out at our practice but without sedation just the local anaesthetic anyway, and remove the risk of it getting worse.
c - see if it could be done privately under sedation and possibly sooner? I'm not sure how much this would be, but would probably be able to manage this.

I don't know what to do, but waiting 6 months or more seems risky to me.

Thanks

I think i need to ring them back and try and talk it over with the dentist that saw here.
I feel terrible she has to go through this.

Take her to a private dentist.

It depends on how you think she would handle it. I had 4 teeth out for braces at 11 and I don't remember being particularly upset about it, although I appreciate there is quite a difference between 8 and 11.

Maybe get a quote to see what sedation and extraction would be privately first?

Thanks Joswis. I'm thinking this too. I can't make her wait.
Just hope they don't have a huge backlog too.

C.
Extracting a back adult tooth is quite a physical sort of procedure, I'd imagine harder to do in a child's mouth.

Well Einszwei she is a bit of a wimp! I absolutely don't want to put her off the dentist.

Does anyone have any idea what it might cost?
Might have to borrow from my parents but I'm sure they would be able to lend me the money.

Private if possible. And make sure she gets into a better routine. To need an extraction due to decay at 8yo really isn't great, is it?

C. Of course C !!!

My Ds has a problem with the enamel on his first adult molars, and needed three removed aged 9/10 and then 11. Honestly, I wouldn’t do it to an 8 year old without sedation, it’s pretty physical. With sedation he was alright.

I'd go private with sedation rather than wait.

I'm sorry she needs to go through this. What's happened? Try not to worry too much, focus on fixing things for her.

To need an extraction due to decay at 8yo really isn't great, is it?

This is good point. However I’d ask dentist for likely cause of decay. This is because it may not be due to poor hygiene. For example, I have back teeth with deep grooves caused by genetics. My dentist applied permanent sealants to these teeth to prevent decay because the grooves were too deep for brushing to reach and clean.

I'd say it totally depends on your DD and how she feels about the dentist, but for an extraction I'd pay extra for sedation and I'm 37

Can you compare costs to have it done privately but sooner?

I think this is really common right now due to missed check ups during lockdown. What could have been a simple filling is now an extraction. I think I'd go for option c. Shame it's an adult tooth.

And in response to @LindaEllen I had to have a number of extractions at that age unfortunately, because treatment for other medical conditions caused collateral damage to my teeth. It's not always just due to poor oral hygiene.

I'm not sure what's happened. It is due to decay which was a shock.
There were no signs of any issues at her last check up, but then the one she was due in March was cancelled so it was about a year between check ups.
I asked the dentist if there were any signs of decay on any other teeth, or signs that we're not brushing properly anywhere else to which she said no.
But I have taken it as a warning to make sure brushing is better as I absolutely do not want this to happen again.
No, its not great needing a tooth out at aged 8. I feel thoroughly ashamed without needing telling off here thanks LindaEllen

C if you can afford it.

We've just had a midline mesiodens tooth removed from the front for DD8.

It was a full adult tooth so properly embedded. The extraction completely traumatised my daughter and took around 20 minutes even though she was perfectly behaved in the chair aka too terrified to move

We opted for a local anaesthetic extraction because like you (for different reasons) time was of the essence to get the tooth removed and a local referral was looking likely to be 12 months!

Thankfully she's old enough to rationalise that it was necessary but she was upset for days after and keeps asking if any more need to be removed.

I'm sure that someone will come along and say their child was absolutely fine, but that was our experience.

Definitely talk it over with your dentist, and take into consideration how your child might respond. We were fairly lucky that DD froze, I can't imagine how we would have handled her fighting the dentist off once it got started.

Best of luck

I had to have mine out without sedation and I cried because it was physical and scary, I would pay for private if possible. You could phone around and get some quotes.

It was my back tooth (not wisdom) it took nearly an hour and I received 4 doses of local anesthetic.

If you can afford the private I'd do that. I'm late twenties and had an impacted wisdom tooth extracted as my first ever dental procedure when I was about 19 or 20. I was terrified and opted to be sedated for it and it was fine. Now that I'm older and have had more dental procedures since, I think I'd be ok without sedation now for an extraction but for a little 8 yr old and especially given th dentist has recommended sedation too, they know best and I'd go down that route. And as you say it will be worth it if it means avoiding an experience at the dentist that she finds very scary and creates future anxiety about attending the dentist.

OK definitely going to try a private option. Any ideas how to find one?? I mean most dentists have a private practice too, but not all offer sedation. And won't everywhere have a backlog?? Oh dear.

I was nearly 30 btw.

@Joeydoesntshare

It was my back tooth (not wisdom) it took nearly an hour and I received 4 doses of local anesthetic.

Our dentist recommended we get a prescription from the doctor for diazepam (?) then the dentists would give it to DS, to extract his embedded baby tooth. Because a referral is too long at the moment.

DS is very anxious about dentists so he absolutely needs something.

My duaghter needs a couple out and we're waiting for the hospital appointment.

I assumed private would be expensive?

It will be okay to wait wont it? She's not in pain...