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Original poster

teeth

26 replies

Ems · 31/07/2001 18:23

Article in Daily Mail today about 'acid attacks' on teeth.

The British dental association have launched an information service called 'Bureau for Information on Tooth Erosion', or BITE.

website is: www.bite.uk.com and helpline 01295 224 549.

Apparently one in eight youngsters are consuming 22 can of fizz every week!

Their advice states, drink water or milk instead of fruit juice or diet fizzy drinks.

Dilute fruit juices as much as possible, never brush teeth straight after having a drink and use a straw if poss to help direct drink to the back of the mouth.

OP posts:
Robinw · 04/08/2001 07:54

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Bo · 04/08/2001 09:30

my son hates having his teeth brushed too and does the classic moth-clamped-shut routine, EXCEPT if we use our electric toothbrush on him which he loves and finds really funny. I checked with our dentist if it's OK (he was c. 8 months old) and she said it was fine. We don't like to use it often though because we want him used to a normal toothbrush & therefore leearn to brush his own eventually, but when I;m really not in the mood for a battle, or he's had a few consectutive days of only half a brush, I'll get it out.

Rhiannon · 04/08/2001 18:55

Bo, I'm happily qualified to answer this one.
Don't worry if he won't use a brush, just a pea sized amount of paste in his mouth is fine for him to swish round. Funnily enough deciduous teeth are actually 'designed' to be self-cleansing, as you can see there are far less pits and ridges in them for food to stick to than adult teeth so you don't have to be too rigorous with the brush.

Yes acid attacks on teeth can look horrifying and sugar attacks just as bad. Black stumps and rather worringly the picture in the paper was supposed to be that of a 7 year old but it was definitely a younger mouth as they were all deciduous teeth (more like 4 or 5 years old)so it shows the damage done in a short number of years.

Joe · 05/08/2001 08:09

My dentist always told me never to brush your teeth after orange juice as it is so corrosive and even to the point of brushing your teeth before you eat so you dont brush stuff in.
My husband used to do rgby and used to put abit of orange juice or coke in their mouth shields and suck it out at intervals. Tests were done to see the effect on teeth. I think he said it was found that it took around 24 hours for the teeth to corrode to next to nothing, scary

Pupuce · 05/08/2001 15:02

What about white spots on teeth, what does that tell you ?

Willow2 · 05/08/2001 18:22

Pupuce, a complete guess here, but might it be calcium deficiency?

Jj · 05/08/2001 19:28

??tmy son has those and his dentist told me it was due to a hormonal imbalance, in my case undiagnosed hypothyroidism, during the 2nd (?) trimester of my pregnancy with him. The spots are on his baby teeth- he said his permanent teeth would be fine.

Jj · 05/08/2001 19:29

oops, the ??tmy should read "Pupuce, my". dunno what happened there

Chelle · 06/08/2001 00:55

At the dentist with my little boy (26 months)recently and he said that an excess of fluoride can casue white spots on the teeth. He said there is no problem with these spots, just that their aesthetic (or otherwise) value. He suggested holding off on fluoride supplements (we have rainwater, so no fluoride added) until 3 to 4 years of age when the secondary teeth are developing.

Pupuce · 06/08/2001 15:33

Well my son brushes without toothpaste and has only bottled water.... so where would the fluoride come from? hmmmmmm
It must be like white spots on nails which I have always had... and my midwife told me last week that it was a lack of calcium... which made me laugh because that is one part of my diet which I know is definitely meeting the RDA !

Robinw · 06/08/2001 20:41

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Shiv · 06/08/2001 21:10

My oldest boy really hated having his teeth brushed. it was such a battle, but I found what looks like just a toothbrush head and it fits over your finger and found it was a lot less unwieldy than a toothbrush and it made things much easier. my second child loves his toothbrush and had one even before he had teeth. he chews it so much we buy one every two weeks. my concern now is how to get them to spit. i use only the recommended pea size amount of toothpaste but it all gets swallowed i think,

Sallysoo · 07/10/2001 05:25

My 14 months boy has more than 10 teeths already.
There is some black spots on 4 of his lower font teeths. The black spot is somewhere at the tip of the teeths. Do anyone know a way of getting it off ?

Robinw · 07/10/2001 06:42

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Rhiannon · 08/10/2001 11:11

Sallysoo, does he have a bottle with juice? It could well be bottle caries (tooth decay directly linked to bottles) but it might not! Don't worry too much, get to a dentist.

Qd · 09/10/2001 21:11

How easy have people found finding a dentist for their children? My cousin in Somerset can only get a private dentist for her 2 year old. It seems ridiculous. My son, aged 3 is registered with my dentist in Hampshire, near my mum. I haven't lived there since I went to university. I would quite like to transfer us to London and just haven't got round to it. first stop Mumsnet!

My daughter, 2 next week, has never been. I was going to post a message on here about her teeth. They have white spots on them. They aren't very obvious. My husbands sister has them on hers too. Is it hereditary, does anyone know? Thank you..

Robinw · 10/10/2001 05:38

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Original poster
Ems · 10/10/2001 08:17

RobinW, you are 'ask the expert' on teeth! Therefore advice please on 'How do I get my son to spit?' Anyone know what age, they ususally get the knack of this.

OP posts:
Marina · 10/10/2001 10:20

Oh yes please Robinw! I have been gobbing like an old prospector into the washbasin for weeks and inviting himself to copy me, with no effect whatsoever. Brushing and rinsing is now going fine, but not the spitting. Hope you can help...

Rhiannon · 10/10/2001 11:04

As long as they are having no more than a pea sized amount of paste on their brush, there is no need to worry about spitting out. In fact it will help if it sits there for a few minutes. The mouth produces so much saliva that it won't stay for long. Don't worry. R. (I qualified as a dental nurse in 1988)

Marina · 10/10/2001 11:46

Thanks Rhiannon. I never spat as a child and did not end up with speckled teeth, but it is a worry, so it's good to have your mind put at rest.

Original poster
Ems · 10/10/2001 11:55

Thanks Rhiannon, concept of spitting is beyond him at the mo.

OP posts:
Robinw · 10/10/2001 12:15

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Robinw · 11/10/2001 11:25

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Duck · 11/10/2001 18:49

I spoke to my dentist about fluoride supplements the other day. His opinion is that fluoride supplements are not necessary if you use a toothpaste containing fluoride- in fact swallowing the pea sized morsel is OK. Most children can't spit until they are at school. He feels that fluoride supplements are a palaver as you need to take them daily until the age of 18 and there is quite a narrow therapeutic index ie not much room for safety and fluoride is dangerous in overdose. He has loads of healthy children on his books and says the main thing is good dental hygiene. The fluoridation is for folk that dip dummies in jam etc.