Holes (cavities?) in toddler’s teeth

[Sunnyday14558]

My son is two and a half. I noticed today he has a small hole in the front of his bottom canine and so took him to the dentist. He refused to let her look in his mouth but she got a quick look and said he has a couple of holes on the front surface of his teeth (canines top and bottom). As she couldn’t inspect properly, she sent us home with some toothpaste and told us to come back in 2.5 months .

My husband usually cleans my son’s teeth so I can’t speak for how good the brushing is, but, I do know we don’t let him have excess sugar, fruit juice etc. I’m pretty sure that apart from occasionally giving him milk at bedtime, his diet is good.

my husband has a condition which means the enamel on his teeth is very weak and I’m now really worried my son has it too. Does anyone have experience of cavities in such a young child? Aside from ensuring we brush thoroughly, should we be doing more? Is the dentist right that we should just go back in a couple of months?

Brushing is important but diet is the number one factor in decay.

If a child has something to eat or drink that is sugary or starchy more than three times a day they will get decay . Even just a bite or a sip.

That’s not just sweets , biscuits ,cakes, squash etc but fruit juice, smoothies yoghurts , dried fruit like raisins, crisps , granola bars, fruit twisters, cereals etc . It’s not just sugar but honey , agave syrup , anything ending in ose. Animal milks are ok but most soya , oat , rice milks etc are sweetened to make them palatable.

They can eat or drink what they like at mealtimes it makes no difference at all. But it is what they eat and drink inbetween meals that is the problem. Even if it’s just a sip or a bite. Particularly if they eat or drink anything just before bed because even if they brush their teeth afterwards the acid will stay on their teeth attacking them overnight.

Our GD was told when she was little that she has thin enamel on her teeth and was told they can be coated when she is older.

Could well be hypoplasia. Use tooth mousse to strengthen what enamel is there but a proper dentist visit where they can get a good look will help diagnose it properly.