Not great news from the dentist for my 3yo - please help!

[Pagetta]

My DS is turning three next week. Today i took him for his second trip to the dentist.

First time they just had a quick glance said all ok.

This time he sat him in the chair propelry and has identified a 'tooth to keep an eye on' and queried me on his diet.

I am absolutely mortified. I really thought we were vigilant but I'd really appreciate any advice.

• We brush twice a day, morning and evening
• he is rarely alloed sweets/lollies
• he rarely has dried fruit
• he drinks pretty much only water and oat milk all week. On weekends he is allowed (very weak) high juice and watered down fruit juice. Things like capri sun or fruit shoots are at parties only (or grandparents).
• he does like cake and biscuits. when he gets home from childcare he will usually have a fig roll or a little chocolate with his milk in the evening.

I think the main culprits are fruit and honey. He is a fruit FIEND - bananas grapes and apples especially. and absolutely loves honey too. We sometimes put some in his porridge and i know he has honey sandwiches at the childminders 1/2 times a week.

The other thing is fizzy water - we let him have it as a treat as we thought was a healthy alternative to juice or pop.

I feel like i've totally let him down. Any advice or changes we could make would be hugely welcome.

Eek that diet sounds just like my dcs'. And I definitely don't do a full 2 minute brush of teeth maybe 40 seconds. We have dentist next week.

It's so hard tho - fruit and dried fruit and yogurt and honey are so bad for teeth but that's practically all my 2yo eats

i must qualify my earlier shocking confession by saying DD has no fillings or decay, but still want to improve her diet.

Good teeth are a gift we can give our children. 2min tooth brushing should be non negotiable. Someone has to be the adult in the relationship...

Look at the link and educate yourself and DC. It makes me so that we just chin it off yet still complain about the cost of dentists and how there's no emergency dentist etc etc etc. 99% of the problem is preventable.

mrsmorton Christ that's awful.

I was never taken to the dentist as a child, I have an awful phobia requiring a diazepam to get through a basic filling, check ups always trigger panic attacks - its really bloody annoying.

I probably made a fool of myself taking my PFB in at 6 months old with her two teeth barely poking through However they both actually enjoy visiting the dentist, I was surprised at the eldests meltdown yesterday.

I don't feel too bad about DDs being fruit refusers now either Barring the odd banana.

well i hope that wasnt directed at me, because 2 minutes of tooth brushing and educating a child with severe ASD about diet are not that easy,,,

Such a common story. Parent is phobic but wants to make sure DC have great teeth. The sort of parent we love!!

Makes me wonder how the hell I survived in the eighties where I was pretty much raised on sugar and yet don't have a filling in my head at forty. It's really weird how so many kids are getting tooth decay now.

mrsmorton that's awful - you must see some shocking things!
I've read so much about kids teeth and really thought we were doing ok!

saying that - my mum told me that she has always had soft teeth prone to decay and mine aren't great, so genetics aren't helpful bless him.

When DD was a baby (and was actually at the dentists as I had an appointment) I asked what age she should start getting dental check-ups and they told me from 3 years old.

I have really sensitive teeth and was advised to cut all sugar out - I also got rid of most carbs as I was diagnosed with IBS - and within a fortnight the difference was unbelievable. The tooth pain is almost completely gone now. No constant low level throbbing, no spitting blood.

There is a LOT of hidden sugar in foods, hiding behind names we don't recognise, I was shocked.

Smoothies and full fat drinks are ubiquitous now. That's what "we" think is the problem in our local area.

fWIW my DH is a dentist and totally agrees with mrsm. It's the number if intakes across the course of the day that is the issue.

In little ones, his particular bug bear is dried fruit/fruit bars, raisins and juice given as snacks. In older children, it's energy drinks. At his practice, some teenage boys have practically given up on eating and are surviving on 6 cans of energy drinks a day. Their teeth and general health are not in a good way.

Re teeth cleaning: he apparently had a professor at uni who told parents that children can clean their own teeth unsupervised once you would trust them to clean your most precious ornament and not smash it to bits!

Can I ask a question mrsm - I have 3 yo twins, I currently put toothpaste on their brush and let them brush for 1 minute or so (which is really mostly sucking) then I brush them for 1 minute. Is that enough or should I brush for 2 minutes?
Also is it better to brush teeth before or after breakfast (they don't drink anything except water and the odd homemade smoothie)

Thanks

Mrsmorton, I have a question. I am mid forties, I drink endless low cal soft drinks - pretty much all I drink. I eat chocolate a few times a day, snack endlessly and eat biscuits and crisps for supper. I once didn't see a dentist for 16 years! Have really only started going since having children.

Kids, have fab teeth, limited snacking, limited sweet treats as pudding not throughout day, water or milk etc. I also brush them until they are 10 ish as dentist told me to and I figured they are still pretty inept then sometimes.

I also have great teeth, no issues apparent or threatening. I do brush 2/3 tines daily, that's my only saving grace. Why do I still have teeth?!

My dentists insists I look after my teeth but I think my habits would justify major damage. I do get that most childhood decay is preventable, I also get how overwhelming our treat and snacking culture is.

I suppose I want to know how much good brushing helps if diet is poor or if I have just been the dental equivalent of the apparently healthy 90+ smoker.

ceeveebee I think that sounds fine. Don't want to waste compliance at this stage.

banana it sounds very much like it!! You've been lucky, there is a genetic component to it, largely the make up of the bacteria in your mouth and whether it's the type that causes gum disease, decay or neither.

Thanks!

Took my two to the dentist today and was told to brush their teeth until they are 10.

DD(8) had a little plaque on a back left lower molar and I said thats the end of you doing it on your own.

Is an electric toothbush recommened as a child? I just think the timing element of 30 second per quarter may help.

Has anyone got any tips for taking a very reluctant 4 yr old to the dentist? He has never allowed a dentist to look in his mouth. Shirt of drugging him I don't know what to try!
He has seen me be seen, watched tv/ read stories about going / bribery. But he us just terrified. He is the same with doctors- his preschool jabs were fun..

I was actually told off by the dental nurse for insisting my then 3yo ds1 sit in the chair - he was crying and wouldn't open his mouth. She said leave it.

My now 2yo refuses the toothbrush and screams and I actualy have to pin him down to even attempt to brush them.

He was Ok for a while but it's got worse - I am hoping, along with going in the car seat, putting on clothes and leaving a shop in a vertical posture, that this will become something he agrees to eventually.

I am fully prepared to see some decay in his teeth but hope that I will manage to get in there before it gets out of hand. I do try most nights, sometimes it is obviously going to be a fight to the death and I am ashamed to say I don't push it.

It is an awful conflict.

Has the dentist let him look in your mouth? Also, from what I've seen of what DH has done with our two (only 2 and1 so easier to corral),the first couple of visits he gave them a mirror each and let them just hold it for most of the "appointment". DS loves looking in my mouth so maybe see if that works and then it's his turn t have his mouth looked in. Also, is he bribable with the stickers?

yes - stickers worked a treat today. three batman stickers from the nurse while mummy was checked, then he sat and was really good - although he made me squidge on the chair with him! But once i did he lay back and let the dentist poke around!
Last night i let him poke around in my mouth too and we 'practiced' at breakfast this morning.

Thank you that is a good idea, I will see if he will look in my mouth and play dentists. Anything is worth a try at this stage!

It sounds like he just has teeth that are quote prone to decay. It happens.

Cousin dentist says - brush before breakfast, to see mouth with plain water after eating, have sugary sweets all together (so not grazing through the day) and rinse mouth after eating them. There's a kids sensodyne toothpaste that is quite good.

Topsy and Tim have a visit to the dentist episode. That sold it to my three year old pre dentist visit.

Oh Mrs Morton, thank you for the answer - I would never have thought of the variable impact of different bacteria.