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Original poster

Tooth extraction in a child : local or general?

48 replies

lulumama · 10/04/2008 17:56

DS , 8.6 , has an abcess am a bit gutted .

dentist recommends the tooth is extracted, he can do it under local as it is a bit wobbly anyway.or he can refer us to the hospital for a general. i think local is ok? general has more risks surely....

has given me a letter for doctors to get antibiotics

DS not in pain, (yet) face not swollen or anything

am blaming myself

OP posts:

Original poster

lulumama · 11/04/2008 19:22

thank you

i wil let you all know how it goes

well, DH wants to take him, but i might.

either way, he is having it done tuesday

thanks x

OP posts:

jasper · 13/04/2008 19:16

Wow that was very thorough of the dentist to write to your GP to say ABs were being prescribed!

Good luck on Tuesday

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 12:38

well, tis done ! thank you all for your help

it was absolutely fine !! DS very nervous, but it was done and dusted within 25 minutes, he did not even feel the needle go in, which was the bit he was most worried about! he is home now and lying on the sofa

am very relieved, as if it had been a horrible experience, it could have put him off the dentist for a loooooong time

£25 for the procedure. good value !

and tooth in a bag in my pocket for the tooth fairy...

OP posts:

jasper · 15/04/2008 19:28

hey lulu well done to your ace child and the not half bad dentist!

WatsTheStory · 15/04/2008 19:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:32

thank you , i reckon tooth fairy will leave £5.

thank you all for the support x

OP posts:

RubySlippers · 15/04/2008 19:38

my lovely brave nephew

i think the Essex tooth fairy may give him something on Sunday as well

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:39

thanks ruby. hve got over my shame that it is something that i did that got him this abcess.

OP posts:

Twiglett · 15/04/2008 19:39

talk to DS and ask how he feels about it? explain the difference .. my 6 year old was old enough to decide

hospitals won't automatically do GAs they can do a twilight sedation too where he won't remember but won't be under

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:40

he's already had it done ! thanks though twig

OP posts:

Twiglett · 15/04/2008 19:43

first build a time machine

well done ds .. mine had a ga and vomited blood for 12 hours

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:44

eeeeeeeek!! sounds scary .

OP posts:

Twiglett · 15/04/2008 19:50

he had 4 out and one capped and a wobbly front tooth taken out for safety too

which was a bugger because when we heard he needed a tooth out (abcess too) we said cheerily "ooo the tooth fairy brings £5 when you have a tooth taken out at the hospital"

it wasn't till the x-ray we found out that 4 were coming out .. who knew he knew his 5 times table that well .. cost us tooth fairy £25 in the end, with them removing the wobbly front 'un .. sheesh

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:51

oh dear ! that is bad luck.. i would hvae stuck the blardy teeth back in !!

after all of this , i still don;t know what an abcess actually is

OP posts:

Twiglett · 15/04/2008 19:53

it's a boil (like a spot) in the gum basically .. virus gets in under the tooth and causes abcess .. not anyone's fault

Original poster

lulumama · 15/04/2008 19:54

yuck, poor ds.

hvae always been scrupulous about teeth brushing, so was a bit when this happened. but thankfully all is well

OP posts:

ellideb · 15/04/2008 20:25

Hi Lulumama! i'd just like to clarify a few things a few people have said regarding abcessess on here, I'm gad your LO's okay BTW. Please excuse the essay but this is a subject close to my heart.

Abcessess are not caused by viruses getting under the gum. An abcess ocurs when the tooth decay reaches the pulp of the tooth and causes the death of the tooth. Puss builds up and shows as a boil on the gum as the pressure needs to be released somewhere.

At this stage the tooth has already died and will not cause the child any pain. It is when the tooth is dying (before the abcess) that causes the pain (and not every child experiences this)

A dentist will prescribe antibiotics to help keep the infection under control but it will not cure it. The only cure at this stage is an extraction. If it was an adult tooth then root canal treatment would probably be offered to save the tooth.

What you can do now lulumama to ensure it doesn't happen again is keep the frequency of sweet things that your DS eats down to a minimum and ensure that you supervise his brushing, twice a day until he is over the age of 7yrs.

I have seen hundreds of children have GA's for abscessed teeth, some having all of their teeth removed and the really sad cases are when you see the child for the second time a few years later to have more teeth extracted.

jasper · 15/04/2008 23:19

well said ellideb

Original poster

lulumama · 16/04/2008 07:01

that is fine. i do supervise tooth brushing, and he does not eat a lot of sweets. but i thikn we will pay even more attention to his brushing now. thank you for clarifying

OP posts:

Twiglett · 16/04/2008 07:49

oh ok .. I was obviously given noddy version to abcesses as DS had incomplete enamel on pre-molars, or because they thought I couldn't take it

Twiglett · 16/04/2008 07:51

just in case lulu .. our problem is fruit .. DS eats (ate) tonnes of fruit .. the constant munching wasn't helpful .. so we've had to restrict apples and citrus to mealtimes (he can eat 5 or 6 at one sitting) and he's got to eat a chunk of cheese (which he hates) afterwards or he eats peppers, bananas and carrots

belgo · 16/04/2008 07:57

I know a child who had a tooth removed due to an abcess, she was five years old at the time. She went to hospital and had it done under sedation. Her mother is a dentist. So if it can happen to the child of a dentist...

Original poster

lulumama · 16/04/2008 08:57

thanks belgo !

interesting point re the fruit, DS big fan of fruit, and less so of cheese, but will make it a new rule..

OP posts:

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