2year old and cavities - Dental Health Message Board

02-22-2003, 12:05 PM

My 2 year old has seen the dentist and has cavities in her 4 front teeth. The dentist says there is really nothing to do with them except brush so cavities do not get worse. I am afraid they might start to bother her but the dentist said in most cases of cavities in kids they do not bother them. Is this true????
She has been brushing her teeth since she was 1 year old, but the problem is from a sippy cup at night even tho there is hardly any juice just basically water. The cup is gone now. The teeth looked very stained. Has anyone heard of any other remedy. The dentist will not do crowns as they do not last on such small teeth.

rhody · 02-22-2003, 09:01 PM

I believe that most baby teeth without roots, just fall out at about age 6 or 7. (In rare cases some baby teeth have roots, and are retained throughout adulthood, although.)

So, I would guess the best thing to do is just try to keep the teeth clean and follow what was suggested by the dentist. I read on the internet, that in some cases, cavities that haven't bore through too deeply will heal themselves if proper cleaning is applied.

Maybe since the dentist knew that these baby teeth are temporary, maybe that's why he or she wasn't too concerned about the cavities. That's just a guess, on my part.

jdream · 02-23-2003, 09:08 PM

I'm wondering how large the cavities are? It is very common for dentists to take the approach of waiting on baby teeth depending on how deep the decay is. Apparently these four teeth do not have deep enough decay to require immediate attention? Baby teeth do have roots, and nerves like permanent teeth. Roots on baby teeth resorb as the permanent tooth pushes its way in. I'm not sure if by four front teeth your talking about top or bottom teeth or both, but she should lose these teeth between 6-8 years old.
The best thing to do is to limit the amount of sugar or sticky foods your child eats. Also for you to brush her teeth at least 2 times a day and floss them daily. In my experience working with kids, very few actually know how to brush correctly. In fact most kids still need assistance even up to the age of 9. Is she taking any fluoride (drops?, tablets?) If you are using the drops, apply the drops directly to these areas of decay. Fluoride can actually remineralize the area of decay and make it stronger than it was before. Depends on amount of decay. If you are using systemic fluoride be careful with the amount of toothpaste you use, especially with a 2 year old. They usually swallow it. Too much systemic fluoride can cause fluorosis. Another option would be a fluoride varnish application at your dentist's office. It is a high concentration of fluoride that is painted onto the areas of decay. When saliva touches it it hardens. It stays on the tooth for a day or two and releases fluoride into the areas. Check with your dentist.

[This message has been edited by jdream (edited 02-23-2003).]

cttwins · 03-06-2003, 01:19 AM

My sister always let her son drink from a sippy cup (because he was always spilling it and it saved on carpet cleaning. LOL!) Because of this his two front top baby teeth are completly gone. She took him to a dentist and he said that there was nothing that he could do, he just told her not to give him so much sugar or else it could effect his adult teeth. This could lead to more serious problems if not taken care of. I'm glad to hear that the bedtime cup is gone, and I hope that there are no more problems.

momoftwo1128 · 05-11-2003, 08:27 PM

I too have a 2 year old who has cavities in her two front teeth. Everytime i brush her teeth I get very upset knowing that we have brushed her teeth since she started to get her teeth. And I do the brushing. She does however eat a lot of sugar (well did until I stopped that habit) but I do brush them. She also has used a sippy cup which they say is a big cause of the sugar sitting on her teeth. I did post something on here a while back and got a lot of heat because of her teeth. Her dentist wanted to put her threw surgery and cap them but all kinds of mothers as well as other dentist told me to either let them go and just keep brushing them or get them pulled. Its hard to go through this and it really stresses me out worrying about what to do with them. I was going to go through the surgery in the fall last year but right before the fact they said that my dental/medical coverage would not pay for the anasthesia and there was no way i could afford what it cost for that. So i decided to go with friends/family and other dentists advice and let them go. But now her one tooth is getting worse and i have to take her back to be checked this week but now i am very upset that it is much worse and it will cause more problems. I don't know what it is but it seems that there are a lot more children out there now with dental problem. Is it in the air/water because I know I brushed my child's teeth faithfully a few times a day atleast. Plus she also used the brush after I am done and continues to brush them herself.