Nitrous and Fillings in baby teeth - do you fill cavities?

[Anonymous]

I feel like the general advice changed between the time my eldest was born and now. I have a 5yo with a cavity and the dentist is encouraging nitrous and filling it. Back then, there was advice to wait and see and the baby tooth would come out and caution about nitrous.

Any feelings or thoughts? Filling baby teeth and using laughing gas?

[Anonymous]

Is this a molar? They need to last until age 10.

My 5 year old son had many cavities filled with novacaine. He got milk bottle cavities before age 2 from breastfeeding all night. They were controlled with SDF and brushing with xylitol and MI paste and weaning until he was old enough to hold still. The pediatric dentists kept rubbing their hands together with $$ in their eyes thinking about putting him under general anesthesia. They were filled by my regular dentist with just novacaine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this a molar? They need to last until age 10.

My 5 year old son had many cavities filled with novacaine. He got milk bottle cavities before age 2 from breastfeeding all night. They were controlled with SDF and brushing with xylitol and MI paste and weaning until he was old enough to hold still. The pediatric dentists kept rubbing their hands together with $$ in their eyes thinking about putting him under general anesthesia. They were filled by my regular dentist with just novacaine.

Who on earth puts a child under general anesthesia for cavities, unless there are extenuating circumstances? Nitrous is not general anesthesia, which typically requires intubation. It isn't even really twilight sedation.

[Anonymous]

Not cavities but my kids have had a number of teeth pulled (my kids teeth rarely fall out on their own and had a shark teeth situation going on). Anyway, they did really well with laughing gas. I was in the same room, and they didn't complain of any pain and generally had a positive experience.

[Anonymous]

Depends what tooth it is and how much longer it’s estimated until it falls out. If you have years to go you def need to get it filled. If you wait too long they’ll get an abscess - ie infection.

[Anonymous]

My dentist doesn’t fill them unless the child is in pain. We had to switch dentists to find one who didn’t want to fill them all.

[Anonymous]

My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this a molar? They need to last until age 10.

My 5 year old son had many cavities filled with novacaine. He got milk bottle cavities before age 2 from breastfeeding all night. They were controlled with SDF and brushing with xylitol and MI paste and weaning until he was old enough to hold still. The pediatric dentists kept rubbing their hands together with $$ in their eyes thinking about putting him under general anesthesia. They were filled by my regular dentist with just novacaine.

Who on earth puts a child under general anesthesia for cavities, unless there are extenuating circumstances? Nitrous is not general anesthesia, which typically requires intubation. It isn't even really twilight sedation.

They call it general. I didn't ask what drugs they're talking about because I didn't like the sound of it and I wanted to give brushing/SDF a chance. I do think they get supplemental oxygen. I think it is trendy nowadays because kids have more cavities than they used to and a single bad dental experience can cause a lifelong dental phobia situation. As I said, I wasn't happy with the pediatric dentist pushing it so hard. My son recently started developing a tiny cavity on a front tooth he will lose in 1-2 years and my dentist just shaved it down a bit and called it a day. There are definitely different philosophies when it comes to dentistry so you are always served seeking a second opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

SDF is supposed to be good for this. The silver helps suppress cavities in adjacent teeth. The drawback is that it is ugly.

[Anonymous]

If you think your child would be ok with it ditch the pediatric dentist and take them to yours. I found the treatment to be much more conservative and efficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

Dentist here. Decay doesn’t spread to surrounding teeth. And the bacteria that cause the decay are already in the mouth. They don’t “spread.” They’re everywhere in the oral cavity. And they don’t cause cavities in the unerupted permanent teeth.
The only reason to fill the teeth is so they last longer as placeholders for the permanent teeth.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you all! To the dentist PP, would you fill your child’s tooth at 5? And to all, is novocaine better or worse for filings than nitrous? Once you started using nitrous, did your child require it for future visits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

Dentist here. Decay doesn’t spread to surrounding teeth. And the bacteria that cause the decay are already in the mouth. They don’t “spread.” They’re everywhere in the oral cavity. And they don’t cause cavities in the unerupted permanent teeth.
The only reason to fill the teeth is so they last longer as placeholders for the permanent teeth.

This is absolutely not true. An untreated cavity absolutely can spread, either to adjacent teeth or downwards, even causing meningitis. Strongly doubt you are a dentist.

OP nobody can answer your tooth filling question without knowing if it is a molar.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10943-abscessed-tooth
How does a tooth abscess affect my oral and overall health?

Left untreated, a tooth abscess can spread to your jawbone, the soft tissues of your face and neck, and beyond. In extremely rare cases, the infection can travel to your heart (endocarditis) and brain (bacterial meningitis).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

Dentist here. Decay doesn’t spread to surrounding teeth. And the bacteria that cause the decay are already in the mouth. They don’t “spread.” They’re everywhere in the oral cavity. And they don’t cause cavities in the unerupted permanent teeth.
The only reason to fill the teeth is so they last longer as placeholders for the permanent teeth.

This is absolutely not true. An untreated cavity absolutely can spread, either to adjacent teeth or downwards, even causing meningitis. Strongly doubt you are a dentist.

OP nobody can answer your tooth filling question without knowing if it is a molar.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10943-abscessed-tooth
How does a tooth abscess affect my oral and overall health?

Left untreated, a tooth abscess can spread to your jawbone, the soft tissues of your face and neck, and beyond. In extremely rare cases, the infection can travel to your heart (endocarditis) and brain (bacterial meningitis).

An abscess and a cavity are not at all the same. And most dentists aren’t even waiting to treat cavities. They treat them as precavities when they are joust decalcifications. If you look very very hard you can find a dentist that doesn’t do this. It took me 4 tries and a referral from our like-minded orthodontist. He doesn’t take insurance but it’s worth it to save all those fillings that will need to be replaced in 5-20 years. So often they are just drilling into healthy enamel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids haven’t had any cavities yet, but my dentist DH has mentioned that (one of?) the reasons they treat cavities in baby teeth is so the decay/bacteria does not spread to surrounding teeth (including permanent teeth that may be coming in- and are more vulnerable to decay at that time, depending on the age).

Dentist here. Decay doesn’t spread to surrounding teeth. And the bacteria that cause the decay are already in the mouth. They don’t “spread.” They’re everywhere in the oral cavity. And they don’t cause cavities in the unerupted permanent teeth.
The only reason to fill the teeth is so they last longer as placeholders for the permanent teeth.

This is absolutely not true. An untreated cavity absolutely can spread, either to adjacent teeth or downwards, even causing meningitis. Strongly doubt you are a dentist.

OP nobody can answer your tooth filling question without knowing if it is a molar.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10943-abscessed-tooth
How does a tooth abscess affect my oral and overall health?

Left untreated, a tooth abscess can spread to your jawbone, the soft tissues of your face and neck, and beyond. In extremely rare cases, the infection can travel to your heart (endocarditis) and brain (bacterial meningitis).

Dentist here again and please, DCUM, do not listen to this moron. Cavities don’t spread - that is a fact, and cavities do not cause meningitis. Ever. Another fact.

Love love love when someone is so wrong yet convinced they are so right.

Now if you’re talking about an abscess, that can spread. But that’s a completely different situation than your run of the mill cavity.