4.5 yr old, 3 fillings and one extraction .... I feel sick with worry

[thedame71]

First visit to dentist today after my 4.5yr old chipped a back molar. We discovered that all four of his back molars (E TEETH) are decayed, one of them beyond repair and is completely dead.

His diet is good and he is an excellent and regular tooth brusher. He eats sweets some times but no more than any other child I know.

The upshot is the dentist recommends that the 'dead tooth' is removed as the adult tooth will not come through until age 10 or so and 5 plus years is too long to wait as the area, surrounding gum is now very prone to infection. He also recommends doing the 3 fillings at the same time.

We have been referred to a clinic on Monday where they will sedate him as this work will require many painful injections. This means he is still concious and can respond but 'out of it'.

I am worried sick about the sedation although I believe it will be less traumatic for a child to be 'unaware' of the scope of work going on.

I really don't want him traumatised by the whole thing for the rest of his life.

Does anyone have any experience of this and any advice would be great. xx

my friends dd teeth are bad. she has had loads of fillings etc, and isnt yet 5. i cant offer advice, as my kids teeth seem fine, but just letting you know that there others out there with kids with teeth problems early on.

My son is 5 and a half and is going to need fillings etc.Me and dp were devastated.I was in a panic thinking they would have to give him a general anaesthetic or else it would hurt so much and put him off forever.Dp and i are both scared of the dentist and have always made sure ds cleans teeth etc.I am even scared of sedation but i have had this myself and tbh you do not feel a thing or remember anything and time passes quickly.any sedation is always a worry when its your own child though,but try not to worry i think that is the best course to take and one we will in acouple of weeks.lol

I sympathise - ds has just had his 2nd (very small) filling, and is now to have fissure sealants. Our diet is good, sweets at weekend, fizzy drinks v. rarely, lots of fuit and veg etc etc. Other kids live on fizz and sweets, but have nothing - not fair. He was sedated when he was younger for a blood pressure and other tests relating to his heart - it just makes them a bit woozy and sleepy. Easier said than done, but try not to worry, as he won't really remember much about it. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the messages. I have massive bad mother guilt and I am so worried about the sedation but your messages have reassured me a lot!

the dame!

Understand about the massive bad mother guilt..but i think we all do our best and will get through it.Iyswimxx

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you all.

We are about to do the same for DD1 and am also worried sick and feel very guilty, we have to wait until March for our appointment not sure if that is good or bad. I was told that she will get a pre-med drink before they assess her and decide on treatment and anasthesia. I was told she may have a defect in her enamel, though this has not been confirmed. In any case I am sure some children are more sensitive to decay. It sounds as though there is nothing else you could have done. let us know how it goes.

Our dentist said something similar... something like the 4 teeth (all the same positon on each side of the mouth all are calcified/precalcified (can't remember to be honest, I was so shocked by what he was saying!) and this could have meant they are weaker than the rest of his teeth which are all fine btw.

On the other hand he could have just been saying that to make me feel better!

Good luck to everyone else, I will report back next week after treatment.

Just to let you know the whole thing was extremely straight forward. I am so surprised.

The 3 fillings, were not drilled just cleaned and filled, so no injections for that. Took 5 -10 mins.

Then some 'happy gas' was given to him (I had to laugh internally of course, at the very stoned smile on his face!) and then he was given an injection in his gum. He didn't like it one bit but it was so short.

They then pulled the tooth, it took about 15 seconds and my son did cry and lash out but I was there holding his hand the whole time.

We went into the recovery room for 10 mins and then home. Calpol and tlc, followed by a trip to toysrus this afternoon where he picked the play doe dentist. He has played with it all afternoon so doesn't seem too traumatised by the whole thing.

Thank god its over!

The dame

ps: anyone know what the going rate is for the tooth fairy these days? x

hi the dame glad all went well seehere for going rate