To Treat of Not to Treat a 5 Year Old's Cavities? - Dental Health Message Board

Edelweiss · 06-20-2008, 10:43 PM

My five year grandson old whose teeth are brushed regularly by me and him, suddenly has 3 cavities. He's freaking about them! One, which is a molar will require a crown. I'm all for getting them takne care of as the teeth in which he has cavities are not ones that fall out at age 6 or 7. Everyone is telling me I'm crazy to sink that kind of money into baby teeth.

I feel like everyone is against my decision. My thoughst are if there is decay is that bad that a crown is necessary, what might happen if the tooth is not treated?

Both his mother and I feel the same way. Family and friends are telling us it's just a money-making scheme.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

AnnD · 06-20-2008, 11:17 PM

If you can afford to treat the 5 year old then treat him. I had 5 kids and from the time they were old enough to go to the dentist they went every single year and now they are adults and all 14 grandkids go to the dentist. It is in my opinion it is very important to treat children's teeth no matter when. Since he won't loose the back molars until he is 12 or 13 then I guess then you need to do a crown. It must be really rotten to need a crown(are you really sure it needs an expensive crown or just a large filling?) I think I would need the dentist to convince me that the child needed a crown...for me to pay if the tooth isn't half gone from rot...and you can see for yourself if the tooth is like really rotten. Brushing the teeth doesn't prevent all tooth decay since the decay is also internal...candy and sweets. Also genetics pays a big part in how our teeth will turn out...my husband had really soft teeth and had terrible tooth decay all his life. At any rate having children's teeth fixed is important to prevent future problems but I understand that not all parents can afford that ...my parents couldn't afford to take me when I was growing up...nor did they think it was important but we have since learned that it is important if you can afford it. If others don't think you should get the boys teeth fixed then I think I wouldn't be telling anyone my business.

Thelma-Louise · 06-20-2008, 11:34 PM

No - but I have read numerous posts about this and even questioned my own dentist about it b/c I was brought up during a time when most kids did not go to the dentist until they were 7-8 years old so baby teeth were seldom treated. It seems nowadays most drs suggest or recommend treating baby teeth to help ensure healthier adult teeth by reducing the likelihood of prematurely losing baby teeth. If a baby tooth is lost too early and the adult tooth is not ready for eruption, the remaining baby teeth may shift and crowd or interfere with the eventual eruption of the adult tooth. Also in treating baby teeth , in terms of filling cavities or doing crowns, it may prevent the risk of future infection and/or pain and promote healthy gums, ease in chewing (no pain or avoidance due to pain caused by cavities), etc.

With that said - search for a previous post by a member who was quite upset by having a crown done on their child (with good intentions of course, doing the right thing, quite similar to this post) - apparently the child seemed traumatized by the event and the parent started to re-think their decision.

While I certainly understand the perspective of my dentist and others as well - it is also possible that should a baby tooth be lost prematurely - there is the possibility that the underlying adult tooth will erupt earlier than what may be considered normal as well since there is nothing blocking its way. Maybe the dentist can check the xrays and determine if the underlying adult tooth or teeth are in place should they baby teeth be lost early or need to be removed if they are not treated?

Edelweiss · 06-21-2008, 10:05 PM

Thank you all for your replies to my post. We've decided it's important to go ahead and treat the teeth.