8 - yes 8 - cavities!!

[movinforward]

I took my boys to the dentist yesterday...I had not had them there for check ups for about 1 1/2 years. My oldest son - age 8 - had no cavities. My youngest son - age 6 - had EIGHT CAVITIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I about fell off my chair. I know he does not do the best job brushing his teeth and he likes candy - sigh. I feel like a horrible mom. I have heard some information about reversing cavities and I was just curious about it. Is there anything we can do to reverse this damage. The cavities are in his baby teeth and I know eventually they will be replaced w/ adult teeth. We can take this as a lesson learned and work on better brushing, flossing, cut back on sugar, etc...

Any advice? Thanks.

[mommychem]

No advice. I thoroughly dislike teeth issues.

[Katigre]

Originally Posted by movinforward

I took my boys to the dentist yesterday...I had not had them there for check ups for about 1 1/2 years. My oldest son - age 8 - had no cavities. My youngest son - age 6 - had EIGHT CAVITIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I about fell off my chair. I know he does not do the best job brushing his teeth and he likes candy - sigh. I feel like a horrible mom. I have heard some information about reversing cavities and I was just curious about it. Is there anything we can do to reverse this damage. The cavities are in his baby teeth and I know eventually they will be replaced w/ adult teeth. We can take this as a lesson learned and work on better brushing, flossing, cut back on sugar, etc...

Any advice? Thanks.

1. Get xylitol gum for him if he likes candy - it will be good for his teeth and help prevent decay http://www.epicdental.com/?utm_sourc...lR0hoCnRjw_wcB

2. Sonicare toothbrushes are REALLY helpful for good brushing. YOu can get it for $29.99 from amazon right now.

3. Brushing before bed is the MOST IMPORTANT time to do it well - I would go over his teeth after he's done it at night. If you know you can only brush once a day, prioritize the nighttime brushing .

4. Ask the dentist if you can 'watch and wait' with the cavities depending on which teeth they are in and how advanced they are. My ds1 had a cavity between two baby teeth that we watched for a year and a half until the teeth fell out and we never filled it. But with a cavity he had in his back molar that wouldn't fall out for 8 years, we elected to fill it (with white not silver).

[mamacat]

There is a lot of good info about healing cavities here at GCM and making teeth stronger.Would also find a dentist who will watch and wait - often they want to drill and fill if isnt even a true cavity

[homesteadmama]

This book is all about how to naturally reverse, or cure tooth decay.

Cure Tooth Decay: Heal And Prevent Cavities With Nutrition - Limit ... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GB0JIM/..._5rPGub1GTB50G

Adding some fermented cod liver oil/ butter oil daily is a key part of the protocol. I'd start there asap, as well as limiting, or completely eliminating sugar. Hth!

[graciousmomma]

It might be a good idea to get a second opinion. I am always leery when a dentist declares someone to have that many cavities. My sister was recently told that by a dentist, and I suggested she go get a second opinion, and the second opinion told her there was only one or two cavities.

[Codi]

Poor oral health does not equal bad mothering.

Two of my kids have absolutely horrible dental and decay issues and I do not neglect their teeth nor let them eat sweets much.

Lots of good advice above. I'd look into remineralization.

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

Originally Posted by graciousmomma

It might be a good idea to get a second opinion. I am always leery when a dentist declares someone to have that many cavities. My sister was recently told that by a dentist, and I suggested she go get a second opinion, and the second opinion told her there was only one or two cavities.

This is so true. I was told I needed 8 fillings, which I declined, and when I went to another dentist, he said I had no cavities, just one white filling that needed to be replaced because it had worn away too far (something the first dentist had mentioned as well).

For ds1, flossing made all the difference. His teeth were so close together that food would get caught between them and not come out with brushing. All his cavities were between teeth cavities (he had 4, I think, in baby teeth). Once he started flossing, it cleared up the cavity problem.

[milkmommy]

Originally Posted by graciousmomma

It might be a good idea to get a second opinion. I am always leery when a dentist declares someone to have that many cavities. My sister was recently told that by a dentist, and I suggested she go get a second opinion, and the second opinion told her there was only one or two cavities.

This happened to Cecilia when she was 3.

She'd been screened through the school and given a clean bill. About a week latter the had an in office someplace e as I'd been trying to get her established. They claimed she had like 5...
Her earlier screening provided me with X-Ray allowed me in on the exam etc... the office didn't claiming it was against policy...

We took her to dh dentist and he too gave a clean bill and had open communcation.


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---------- Post added at 09:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 AM ----------

Oh another Cecilia has questionable oral hygiene skills. Fairly standard diet and is still cavity free.

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[Pragmatist]

If you give juice, I would consider eliminating it. My dd had a lot of cavities from drinking juice (otherwise no sugar at all) and she's had no new cavities since we stopped giving her juice.