Sedation for dental treatment 18 month old

[Unhappyandunsure]

Has anyone been through this?

My 18 month old daughter has some dental problems which need looking at, but dentist can't treat her as she is too young to cooperate with the dentist.

He says we will go to the community dentist where they can sedate her so the dentist can take a look.

The idea of my toddler being sedated is terrifying. But I know her teeth need treating before they get worse and potentially cause her pain.

Before anyone asks I am doing everything recommended for good tooth care and always have. My other children have never had amy dental problems. The dentist is not sure why she has these problems but they need looking at properly.

Has anyone ever had a young child undergo sedation? Looking for experiences and advice so I know what to expect as I am dreading it.

Her dad had to have dental work as a child so it could be something like weak enamel if that is hereditory... it could be vitamin deficiency buy that would be odd as I have a nutrition chart and make sure they get a balanced diet

childprotection.rcpch.ac.uk/child-protection-evidence/dental-neglect-systematic-review/

One of mine had congenital malformation of the enamel, which fortunately didn’t continue into adult teeth, but is a medical condition that caused dental issues

And you think someone who has acutely neglected her child’s teeth

would be posting about her concerns re sedation?

Ignore the person obviously lacking in brain cells OP.

I have had experience of both as dd1 was sedated aged 2 (not tooth related) with the gas mask - she struggled a little at first but was out within seconds and the team were extremely professional and handled it really well (as well as being very kind to me when I was blubbing away after she’d been knocked out!). It was fine and she was happy as Larry when she woke up.

Also dd2 had tooth decay which the dentist thought was as a result of needing antibiotics when younger. - she had to have a small white filling but this was about 8 yrs ago (she’s 13 now) and everything’s been fine since. They used to be quite discoloured at the front but it seems to weirdly have sorted itself out and they’re now a normal, healthy colour.

I had severe Enamel hypoplasia as a child and had 2 baby teeth removed under sedation as the enamel hadn't formed properly and caused me a lot of pain exposing the root.
I was older than your child though and at primary school, I remember it but only because I was gutted to miss a school trip.
I have had no problems with my adult teeth and in fact, I have no cavities or issues now in my mid 40's.
There was no 'cause' that could have been prevented it was just something that happened and they treated it.

There is a huge delay all over the counter for the children's sedation dentistry so realistically your kids could be waiting 2-3 years. My DN has airbag needs and ARFID and has terrible decay and has been waiting 2 years 7 months since referral. Its awful.

Forgive the shocking spelling errors, I was juggling a toddler.

I have been taking her to the dentist from a young age, and brushing her teeth as recommended since the first came through. She isn't in pain and I'm trying to prevent her from getting to a point where her teeth hurt. That's the opposite of neglect... I am going to start ignoring you now.

Was she a perm baby? That can impact how enamel develops and has done for my little girl who was born early.

Prem not perm! Sorry!

I am sorry you went through this. I am quite relieved to hear this didn't affect your adult teeth

My daughter had this. Lack of enamel and despite usual check ups an xray showed decay between teeth that had become pushed up against each other as molars came through. Took a fair bit of monitoring & work but now at 17yo they are perfect.

She wasn't, but she did have a traumatic birth so I am not sure if that means anything for teeth... she was okay after that though and hasn't had many health problems.

My daughter had awful teeth despite me brushing them really well ,hers was down to very frequent antibiotics.luckily they weren't painful so the dentist just kept an eye on them and they fell out naturally once her big teeth grew.

Looking at some things now it could be enamel hypoplasia as her teeth did have a slightly strange looking surface. She already has low sugar snacks (vegetables and cheese not berries etc) that's one reason I don't get why it seems to be getting worse.

I hope the wait isn't too long as I don't want them to deteriorate further and start hurting.

I do hope whatever the issue is doesn't impact her adult teeth.

I am not sure what treatment she will need, but it sounds like the dentist will need to sedate her in order to take a look at her teeth as he struggled to get her to let him look

Search for ‘enamel hypoplasia and hypomineralisation’ group on Facebook, lots of info and posts by paediatric specialist dentists, you’ll get lots of advice if you post there

Brilliant, thank you. I will check this out.

I just read that this can be caused by jaundice, which she did have as a baby.

It might not be enamel hypoplasia but it seems worth finding out about it as it does seem to me that it could be.

so strange to come onto a post where the OP is looking for info and support to basically call her an unfit mother

My daughter had a hair wrapped around her toe when she was 2 months old. They used full sedation to cut through it. I had to agree. About sedation just to examine teeth ...this has to be your decision. What about they want sedation all the time because children don't cooperate? There have been deaths caused by it.

From my understanding if enamel hypoplasia the teeth tend to come through looking in some way ‘abnormal’ pitted, grooves, discoloured. Hypomineralisation is quite common and not always obvious at first but the enamel isn’t as strong so much more prone to decay.
In a child so young with a good diet and oral hygiene it’s likely the teeth have some form of enamel defect, obviously dentist will tell you more.
My sons front teeth began to look deformed and ‘chipped’ from about 11 months and progressed eventually to decay. My experience of NHS dentistry is that general anaesthetic rather than sedation was offered and there was a long waiting time, a year was quoted to me. They tend to suggest extraction for severely decayed teeth rather than restorative treatments at this age. They also suggested a watch and wait approach unless he was in pain or had an infection. There are likely more options privately.
I think it would be unusual to have sedation just to have a look, you’ll probably find a dentist with more experience in treating young children will be able to make an assessment even in a non compliant child.
My son ended up having 3 extractions and a cap just before he was 2, he had it privately as he developed an abscess and I didn’t want him to wait with infection present. Was absolutely fine afterwards.
Please don’t blame yourself or let anyone else blame you, dentists are very keen to blame poor diet and brushing but you have done everything right unfortunately it’s just one of those things.
Good luck

There are no NHS dentists where I live. None. I know lots of children who do not have access to regular dental care. They can only access emergency care and that is only accessible if you can drive or afford transport.

My children’s dentist is 40 miles from my house. I’m lucky because I drive so could register them more than an hours drive away. It’s a disgrace.

I do think this is what she has, her teeth had sort of grooves in the enamel at first.

The dentist did kind of rush me and didn't fully explain, I think the community dentist will probably explain exactly what they do and when.

I will look at private options too and see what they are, as it sounds as if she may be waiting a while and this seems to get worse quickly.

Hi OP is this sedation or a general anaesthetic?

We rarely treat kids under 4 using sedation (gas and air) as the level of cooperation needed for success is quite high.

I also am suprised if its a GA that they can justify it for purely investigation purposes? Have you signed any consent forms or anything yet?

I wouldn't be suprised if you go to the community dentist and they watch and wait for a while due to her age if they can't get an examination done.