Dental Treatment for a 2-Year-Old

Find a new dentist - seems unreasonable. Did he say why??? If they are truly decayed, something may need to be done, but it seems way too early. Good luck!

Ok so I am going to give you my opinion as a dental hygienist. I do believe there are shady dentists out there. I would go from a referral if it were me (I am off of work this week but I may be able to get some names close to you if you would like... as I am in the Denton area so most of my referrals are for this area and south of me). Caps and crowns are the same thing and are needed when there is a large cavity. Since your son is only 2yrs old, he will have his front teeth until the ages of 5-7 years old. Did he have crowns placed the first time?...is the new dentist saying that he needs new crowns?...now if your son is needing crowns on the front teeth, I am going to only guess that he was or is given a bottle of milk or juice at bedtime. Front tooth decay on young children is a sign of that but wanted to see if that was the case with you. I think with all the sugars in milk, juice, snacks, and such are very high in sugar. I see a ton of kids and adults who drink cokes or even gatorade all the time and this is a big reason for the rise in decay. Does your son have both baby molars in each area of the mouth...upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right...when these teeth are touching, they should be flossed. This is a common area I see decay starting on young children. As for the sealant issue, I have sealed my 4yr olds baby molars but that is just because I am a little crazy like that. Most parents do not do this but I would highly suggest when he gets older and starts losing baby teeth and getting permanent teeth, to seal as many back teeth as you can....especially molars since they have deeper grooves and if you can afford to do the bicuspids (also called premolars), then I would suggest that as well. I think if you can cut out the sugars, dilute juice with water if not doing that already, brush his teeth at least 2x daily (make sure since you are using fluoride toothpaste that he isn't swallowing it...this can cause discoloring spots on his permanent teeth if he is ingesting it plus it can make him feel sick or throw up) and flossing, you will be helping him out tremendously! Let me know if you have any other questions or if you would like some pedodonist referrals. Good Luck!

D.,

My DH is a local dentist and he does treat children as young as 6 months old. He does free exams for members of this site, so you might go see him for a second opinion.

As for either way, I work in a children's hospital and see a lot of young kids come in where their first trip to the dentist is an emergency visit due to untreated problem. The other posters are unfortunantly correct that there are some dentists out there that are less than ethical. I can't tell you what you need or don't need done, but I can tell you that the baby teeth are incredibly important to save as your child will have some of them until he is 12-13 years old. Prematurely removing primary teeth can greatly affect the permanent teeth.

My DH can at least get you a free second opinion and he does work with people getting treatment they need under a budget. ###-###-####
http://www.mamapedia.com/business/1673055270453968897

-S.

Get a Second opionion with a dentist that you trust. dont' let this guy touch your child!!!

I think you need another opinion. Cavities do happen and they have to be filled becasue of continued tooth decay and pain, but sealants? My son is 7 and the dentist did sealants on the molars only. Sounds like maybe they are trying to take advantage.

Hi D.. I sure don't want to sound like a hype reactive mom ") But I've been made aware of alot of scams involving children having dental work unnecessarily by a mom friend that oversees a support group for mom CEO's. Most of them seem to focus on claims using any government assistance. Since you have had two different opinions and both seem to see a problem in the same teeth, there might be some truth to that. But with that said, it's strange that the 2nd found more than the first. Who's to be trusted here? My husband and I found we had the same thing happen to us when looking for a dentist. One would say one thing and another something different. Sad. You have a good question regarding baby teeth. The only importance that I know of is that the baby teeth play a big role in the position of the permanent teeth that will be coming in behind them. So they are "important" in the developing adult teeth. Here is a web page with info about the scams regarding dentists http://www.insurancefraud.org/dental_fraud.htm
Best Regards,
C.

My son had to have a small filling on a baby tooth and I asked the same question. Reason was that if it had been left to decay further, it would not only have damaged the tooth but the nerve, which is permanent. Not sure about the sealants though - I don't remember getting baby teeth sealed but you should question the dentist until you understand, and/or get a 2nd opinion.

D.,
First of all my pediatrician told me that it is not necessary to take a child to the dentist until they are four years old, unless they are having issues. As far as all the dental work that they are saying needs to be done, that sounds pretty serious. I do not really know much about dental things, but what i would suggest doing, is calling several pediatric dentist and finding out what their take on the situation is. A pediatric dentist would have more knowledge then anyone else on whether this situation should be handled by all of this work. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find the answers that you need.

Did the dentist ever say why he needed caps on the front teeth ? Usually that is done only for major cavities or issues with teeth. The sealants usually are not done until the permanent teeth come in and it's only the back 4 molars. I would question all this work and why and where on the sealants. And I would also definitely have a 2nd opinion done. If you need the name of a great pediatric dentist, PM me. I have one we use in Mansfield that is awesome.

I would probably take him back to the first dentist or maybe even get another opinion from a pediatric dentist. If both dentist said that there were issues with his front teeth than I am sure that there is, at least they agree on that. I do know that some people are more susceptible to getting cavities having dental issues than others, no matter how well you take care of your teeth. I would not just do nothing in hopes that his adult teeth come in fine because you have like 4-6 years before the baby teeth come out and I am sure they will impact the adult teeth development.

Good luck!

The dental profession, just like all others, includes some who are very good, some who are mediocre and some who are scammers. You have to research and judge for yourself whether the person you are working with is honest and professional. If the advice you are given doesn't sound right....get a second opinion.

I would take him back to the first dentist. Is this a pediatric dentist?
The sealants aren't necesary it's a protective coating to keep his teeth from getting cavitities , our dentist dosen't do this until age 7 and then only on the molars. I'm wondering why he wants to put sealants on a 2 yr olds teeth.
Keeping baby teething good condition are very important , cavities in baby teeth can cause problems with the adult teeth. so yes thing like fillings are important for baby teeth.

making sure he brushes his teeth well and isn't eating any candy , drinking soda, and limiting juices is important for keeping his teeth healthy. cutting down on all this will likely slow the rate of decay in his teeth and keep the others from getting the same way.

As far as the cavities and sealents go. Theres not a lot you can do but fix it or it could cause infection. But with the front 2 teeth, you might want to ask what the cost would be to just pull them. I know it sounds harsh but it does look better than caps on the fron t teeth.

My oldest whos now 15 had bottlerott on her front 2 teeth as I also didnt know any better as a first time mom. I put her to bed with a bottle. The dentist just pulled the teeth. Most people just thought she lost them early and honestly missing teeth are cute when your young. They did grow back when it was time for her adult teeth to come in. It took a little longer as her gums were a tad bit more tough for them to push through but she didnt have any pain at all when they cut. She was about 6.