Hello, we have recently been told by the dental hospital that our 2.5 year olds 2 top front teeth have to be extracted due to decay which is clearly visible and it looks like a small hole has also appeared near the top if one! We have been told all manner or reasons from too much dried fruit (she had a mini packet of raisins almost daily - though all other teeth are fine) to night feeds (breastfed to sleep everynight untill 2 years) to not using flouride toothpaste / proper brushing (she is not a fan!) to genetics (some relatives from my husbands side had black teeth as kids). The rest of her teeth are fine (they took xrays too!) so we are left puzzled as to why the front 2 are so badly decayed?! The main concern is what happens to her 2nd teeth if we leave these 2 without extraction - does the decay spread, are the 2nd teeth then more prone to decay if these are left in? Really not comfortable with putting her to sleep and having these 2 extracted. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations on what to do to help her teeth?! Thank you in advance.
Tooth decay and extraction concerns in 2.5 year old
Tooth decay and extraction concerns in 2.5 year old
Posted in:
Parenthood Guilt, Health & Wellbeing, Kids
12 Replies
It’s quite probable that it’s a combination of everything. Also have a look at the food she is eating, there is a lot of hidden sugar in what in even ‘health foods’.
If you leave her teeth in she will end up in agony because her teeth will rot to the roots. She won’t be able to eat and will become malnourished.
Dentists hate pulling teeth from young children, they also don’t like using anaesthetic. They do it because it’s necessary.,
All of those things combined would definitely cause tooth decay. Maybe only the front two teeth have been affected because they are the driest and more exposed teeth. The other teeth would have more saliva protecting them. I was a bit nasty when mine were little and force them to brush, it's a necessity! They are teenagers now and have no fears of teeth brushing so it can't have done them any harm. My exes little sister had badly decayed teeth as a toddler but her adult teeth came through fine. I remember her being in so much pain from her teeth though, they are better off out than in. Plus they will just end up breaking off which can lead to emergency dentist trips, not worth it.
Probably a combination of all of above HOWEVER as the parent you should be making your child brush their teeth!
Dentists don’t like to pull teeth, infact they hate too. You need to get these two removed otherwise your kid is gonna be in horrible pain
I do! A bit insensitive given how bad I feel already around this issue!
You said she doesn’t brush her teeth 🤷♀️
Dentists don’t pull teeth if they can save them, trust me. Putting her to sleep is less traumatic then her being in the chair and fighting and screaming the whole time. Perhaps it’s time to start flossing her teeth, and find some catchy song to brush to and make teeth brushing enjoyable
Interesting you only wrote back to me when pretty much everyone else has told you that you need to make her brush her teeth
Tooth Decay can cause systemic problems. They need to come out ASAP
Don't be scared to put her to sleep! She will be fine and the procedure will be very quick! She is def best to get them out if they are that bad, they could start affecting her other teeth next to them if u leave them. The adult ones prob arent in the gum yet so they shouldnt be affected
We are born with our adult teeth 😃
Yes but they are low down/ high up in the jaws developing not right under in baby tooth in the gum
You don’t have a choice, the professionals have told you what needs to be done.
Putting her to sleep is the humane way of dealing with it, in the chair would be much more traumatic, that’s why they recommend it.
My son has had multiple operations/procedures and been put to sleep many times since he was three months old, honestly, they just get them to breathe in the gas and they go off to sleep. Try to keep her calm, have her teddy with her. They can move around quite a bit when the gas hits them, it it’s involuntary but completely normal, so be prepared. The worst part is them not being able to eat on the day but they usually put the little ones at the top of the surgical list for this reason. You don’t have a choice, so be strong, you’ve got this. My niece had ten fillings done under anaesthetic when she was about five, she came out of it fine. She loved her milk, had it as a toddler and I think that’s what caused hers. The problem is they have milk past the normal age, they typically have it before bed and the milk stays on the teeth all night. This is quite common, toddler decay, I read about it and was always paranoid so stopped the bottle before bed first, at about 14 months. It isn’t what they eat, but more when they eat it. Dried fruit for dessert when they clean their teeth two hours later before bed versus dried fruit at 10 am and they clean their teeth 9 hours later. Probably a combo of all but def the milk, if you didn’t clean her teeth after the fed, which who would, the feeding puts them to sleep. Stop the milk before bed or clean the teeth.
First of all, with toddlers, sometimes you HAVE to pin them down to brush those teethy pegs. None of my kids have been a fan of toothpaste or brushing but it happens whether they like it or not.
Also, do what the dentist recommends.