8 year old has cavity - needs a filling

[Legbatel]

I feel like absolute crap. On review maybe I am too lenient, she will probably have a sugary cereal, fruit snack, healthy lunch, healthy snack, sugary treats after school i,e a mini packet of maryland cookies, maybe a crepe, then has dinner and pudding.

I wouldn't let her eat loads and loads of sweets but yes she probably does have too much sugar. Well she does, hence needing a filling.

Has anyone experienced this? I just cant even imagine the thought of her having an injection in her gum, i know the pain, even with numbing cream and its awful.

Is there another way does anyone know?

Go to a dentist that uses the wand method?

Some of ours have had fillings that young and extractions under local and general anesthetic. Since we switched to oral b electric toothbrushes they have had no issues with decay. We still allow sugary treats but tend to only give them around meal times.

My ds had a filling last year when he was 7. The dentist said that he has good dental hygiene but thin enamel so needs to be careful about sweets and fruits etc. DS is scared of needles and pain but he was totally fine at the dentist with the injection to the gum! I was so surprised, perhaps you will be too. I didn't go with him because I was so nervous about how he would feel and react so my DH went and I think that must have helped too as I wasn't there to make my DS even more nervous. I purposely didn't talk much before hand about how they do the filling, just concentrated on saying that they will fix the hole in his tooth and left the details for the dentist to explain!

Ds had one last year, he's 6, no numbing or drilling required and it was done in 5 minutes - I however felt like crying and like an awful parent.