My 5 year old has got badly decayed teeth from a special high calorie milk (i.e. high sugar) she has had to have for the first 4.5 years of her life to help her weight/growth. We had real trouble getting to see a dentist who would treat her but now we have they are saying that all teeth have to be removed. I have a couple of questions and wonder if anyone here can help:
Any strategies to help with teasing / being different from her peers? Does anyone know of any other children who have gone through this and how has it been for them? She is currently very confident and I would hate for that to be destroyed.
Is this really necessary? Will leaving them in have possible lasting damage to the gums / adult teeth as they come through? There would be pain and possible ulcers if they are left but I'm wondering if they could be dealt with on a case by case basis or if that would be unwise.
Is there no way to save them? Capping or something? If not then. The child should in my opinion be fitted with a temporary denture until her permanent teeth come in. The world is evil in how they make fun of people and this child could have lasting effects of the torment if she isn't given something to make her look like other children. I was a child of a birth defect and had terrible teeth until the age of 14 where all my baby teeth were pulled and my permanent teeth exposed by packing. The pain was intense and I wore braces for 8 years until my teeth were all in. Until my teeth were in Eating was impossible unless my food was blended up. I can promise from experience this is very difficult on the person. If all teeth are removed how will this child eat normally in front of other children? I am a great believer in protecting children emotionally as well a of course physically.
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I am allergic to carbs: I break out in fat!
Last edited by anitak1982; 11-22-2007 at 04:52 PM.
aw i really feel for your little girl,but i feel if she doesnt have the rotten teeth out,they will make the newer ones bad too,so unfortunatley i dont think there is much else you can do
i could be wrong as i am not a dentist,best is to ask your dentist,how long until the newer ones come through?
and best ,not that your daughter will like it but stop her from eating sugary foods,and hard sweets etc.
let her have certain sweets as a treat ,and only occaisional.as she is only a child and like other children loves sweets
im not sure a 5 year old would get on with dentures,i know i find it hard and im an adult
as for the kids taunting her ,at this age of 5 i feel they wouldnt take much notice ,and as she is very confident ,no doubt got loads of friends,so i feel she be ok,
and hopefully it wont be too llong before her new teeth grow and hopefully wont get affected like her teeth now is
Is there no way to save them? Capping or something? If not then. The child should in my opinion be fitted with a temporary denture until her permanent teeth come in. The world is evil in how they make fun of people and this child could have lasting effects of the torment if she isn't given something to make her look like other children. I was a child of a birth defect and had terrible teeth until the age of 14 where all my baby teeth were pulled and my permanent teeth exposed by packing. The pain was intense and I wore braces for 8 years until my teeth were all in. Until my teeth were in Eating was impossible unless my food was blended up. I can promise from experience this is very difficult on the person. If all teeth are removed how will this child eat normally in front of other children? I am a great believer in protecting children emotionally as well a of course physically.
No the dentists say they are too far gone to cap.
I will definitely query the possibility of a denture depending on how problematic eating is.
I am hoping that she will be OK with soft foods like tinned pasta, mashed potato which are firm favourites and the dentist suggest that children can eat fine but that is at odds with your experience.
We are giving a lot of thought to how lunches will work at school in front of other kids.
aw i really feel for your little girl,but i feel if she doesnt have the rotten teeth out,they will make the newer ones bad too,so unfortunatley i dont think there is much else you can do
i could be wrong as i am not a dentist,best is to ask your dentist,how long until the newer ones come through?
and best ,not that your daughter will like it but stop her from eating sugary foods,and hard sweets etc.
let her have certain sweets as a treat ,and only occaisional.as she is only a child and like other children loves sweets
im not sure a 5 year old would get on with dentures,i know i find it hard and im an adult
as for the kids taunting her ,at this age of 5 i feel they wouldnt take much notice ,and as she is very confident ,no doubt got loads of friends,so i feel she be ok,
and hopefully it wont be too llong before her new teeth grow and hopefully wont get affected like her teeth now is
good luck and i hope everything works out ok
We have spoken to the dentists again and yes they suggest the adult teeth could well be damaged. White spots which are apparently a sign of weakness of the teeth.
It's ironic but she doesn't even like sweets! Hard to beleive but true. She also is not really bothered about chocolate.
I hope you are right about the other kids not teasing. The head teacher at school says they are a very close class so fingers crossed they will treat her just the same...
We've read that the adult teeth start coming in at age 6-7. Would be great if it is 6 as that is only a few months away but maybe that is too much to hope for.
P.S also thanks to the first person (sibling of dentist) who replied - their message seems to have gone now but it was helpful. yes she will be having this done at the dental department of a specialist childrens hospital.
