does any of ur toddlers have cavities?

hi mrudula ,

dont worry about this ....
i know its heartbreaking to see decay on the little one .

which teeth did you see the decay on? front teeth?

atleast you detected decay so early ,before it caused more problem

your dd may be more prone to decay ....
i too had experienced the same some time back ..
then i started rigorous cleaning of my dd s teeth using flouridated toothpaste ( the same thing what we used .

but be careful that she doesnt swallow the toothpaste

do the cleaning twice ( before going to bed )
if she is bottle fed , dont give her sugared drink / milk at night while sleeping and also between sleeps when she wakes up crying for milk .

keep checking the spots for increase in size .

 

There is a condition called milk teeth: milk is very hard on teeth if its left in the mouth before sleeping....exactly what happens with toddlers who drink a bottle before sleeping. The acid in milk is the culprit.

In India, some neighborhoods have too much fluorine in the water and that also ruins teeth as they are formed.

Since those are baby teeth, don't get too upset...they are going to fall out and you have a second chance to see flawless teeth. You might ask the dentist also about coatings for the teeth...they make a difference (wish they had them when I was small).

 

Mrudula,

please do not feel guilty. there are many many things that we learn only by experience as parents.

if this will console you in any way - my 5 yr old just now had not 1 but 5 cavities filled. here the recommended age for a dental checkup is up 2 years but i took him only early this year. the last tooth that was corrected y'day had a real bad cavity. you've already taken the correct step by taking her to dentist.

Latha

 

hi mrudula,
seeing cavities post,i cudnt resist myself from writting u as i felt the same guilt few months ago.my 3 yr son was same as your daughter.he is a big milk lover and used to insist for milk in the middle of the night until he was 2 yr.he hated brushing,so i jst used to do for namesake and the result..cavities..that too 4.i couldnt believe it when i went to the ped dentist.so please take care of it so that it doenst get worse.try brushing atleast morning and night.if possible afternoon after lunch you can just do it without paste,so that she doesnt get much fussy about it,this will help you to make sure nothin is stuck in his teeth.dont worry it will take time for your child to allow you willingly to brush.for now you just can make sure you limit the amount of candies and slowly stop milk in the nights(if she takes).make milk a early morning and evening drink.thats all we can do at this age,and dont worry as these are baby teeths,we still have chance to give them good and healthy teeths in future.as at this age they dont even allow to take x-ray at the peds.my son cried so much when they wrap him for the cavity procedure,yes they wrap the kids of this age so that they dont move.and they give them the nitrous oxide to relax,but still they are active during the first 15 mins when they take x-rays.it was heartbreaking to watch our kid fighting like that.anyways now all done and i am taking care of his teeths more than ever.so keep checking and wish your daughter healthy and happy life and ofcoz healthy teeth...

 

hi,
somehow it seems like we have failed as mother to see ur kid's perfect white pearls turn brown ...........but we become good mother when we detect these (and many others in life)signs early & face it instead of ignoring.
my son had 2 fillings at age of 3.6 years.best decision i took as since then he has been more religious with brushing & general oral hygine.he is now 5.6 years & now he has no cavity or brown marks.
the early dentist visit has made him unafraid of the dentist & his tools.
take her to dentist.
pragati

 

DS1 had two cavities . He started going to school after I came to USA and his right cheek started swelling and he started telling us that we should take him to a dentist!!! Immediately I found a doctor near our area who called us to see him on the same day. Took x-rays, gave anti-biotics for 5 days, took another x-ray, tooth was completely damaged :hide:, doc said extraction is the only way and we said :thumbsup. Otherwise the original plan was to do a baby root canal treatment, which would take about 45minutes. Extraction work got over in 10 minutes. It was heartwrenching to see and go through the process as a parent for me. But it was very late to regret. I should have taken more care of his teeth earlier, but anyways now we are careful not only about him, but everyone at home. DS1's 2nd cavity couldn't be filled in, so they took out whatever portion was very bad and put cap. Believe me, nobody should go through this excruciating pain.

So for the lesson learnt part - DS2 doesn't like brushing teeth, but I don't let him escape, no matter what. I sit with them at the end of the day to check on their teeth and make sure that it is clean. I guess they will understand after sometime.