Frustrating Pediatric Dentist

hey D.. does he drink soda or sweetened drinks. if so, this is as bad as candy. with all due respect, it is very easy for a child to sneak candy elsewhere (friends houses, ect. when the parents are not looking). after raising 5 children this does happen ive found no matter how strict we as mothers are. also, does he floss regulary and brush PROPERLY. it may be a combination of all this or a few of these combined with bad genes in the family. sometimes now matter how much brushing you do, genes win. also, did you drink milk at night before bedtime as a child...this can also cause teeth rot and you may not know it until the teeth all start coming in. also, why is he getting crowns...shouldn't they just be cavity fillings. this also don't sound right. if i were you, i would take him to a different dentist and get a second opinion also. just some loving advice from a loving mom who has had dental issues with her kids as well. K.

Try another dentist. I took my son to a dentist that wanted to pull at least 6 teeth when he was 2 and I found another that pulled 2 and crowned 6. She is really nice and my son likes her too.

Sounds like 1 lazy dr to me.

Find a new dentist...what area are you looking? I know a GREAT one in Chichester/Boothwyn area.

i would also sugest try a new dentist. we go to dr pasternet near the echlone mall

Hello. As annoying as it may be, I suggest looking for a new dentist or just get a second opinion.
What a trooper your son must be to endure all that dental work as such a young age. It seems like alot of work is being done on his baby teeth, which I find unsusual. I have three grown children, and I would be leary of all that dental work. My daughter and I wore braces at the same time, I was 38yrs.old my son is now wearing braces. My first daughter has had some cavaties. We love going to the dentist. Besides an experienced dentist can just look in your sons mouth and see what has been going on and his records can be transferred. Good luck!!

That's an awful lot of dental work on such a young child. It sounds like something more unusual may be going on. Perhaps the dental problems are a symptom of some other issue. I would definitely seek another dental opinion. I know of a good dentist in Horsham... an EXCELLENT dentist, in fact. He's not a pediatric dentist, per se, but he's fantastic with kids. Our entire family sees him and has since my children were toddlers. My kids are now old enough to drive there and pay for their own dental visits, so I have a lot of trust in this dentist. If you live near him and would like his contact info, send me a personal message.

Hi D.,
I have to say I've never heard of that kind of dental work being done on a 5 year old. Why were the teeth crowned in the first place? Aren't they just going to have to come out as he gets his secondary teeth? I'm at a loss for any concrete advice on this, but I think, if I were in your shoes, I would probably get a second opinion from another dentist. I have a 5 year old son and I take him to my own dentist (not a pediatric dentist) and he has had 4 cleanings, 4 check ups and fluoride treatments. Maybe I'm not understanding the whole situation with Nick's teeth. Sorry.

Hi D.!
I was a dental assistant prior to the birth of my third child and have seen many crowns placed. It sounds to me like the cement that the dentist is using is not getting the job done. The other thing it could be is that they are not drying the tooth properly before placing the crown,saliva will prevent it from adhering properly.I don't blame you for worrying about the excessive use of anesthetic.Who are you taking your son to? If you are in the Butler area I'd suggest you try to get him in to see Stephanie Kobil DMD. She has a great reputation as a pediatric dentist and the dentists I've worked for have referred patients to her many times. Her number is ###-###-####. Good luck & God Bless.

1st get 2nd opinions

then how about how often does he brush his teeth? also flouride rinse. does he get flouride treatments?

I've never heard so much work on a child either.

I will say dentists do vary, i've had dentists tell me my kids have fillings when they are just sealants.

Going through it right now.

Find a new dentist. We go to Francine Paladino in Cherry Hill. She is one of the top pediatric dentists in New Jersey. I don't know where you are, or what your insurance is, but it is worth just a consultation. A different dentist can give you a second opinion and advise. Good Luck to you.

Hi D.. My son has not been through the extreme of your son, but by the time he was 3 he has several cavities and some veneers done at the pediatric dentist. He was not put under, just given something to 'calm him down'. Then a year later one of the fillings had fallen out and he had to have a crown put in, along with having another cavity done. This was done in the office with no sedatives. He was 4.5yo at this point. It was pretty rough on him and I will have him get the sedative if he needs anything in the future.

My son was a preemie (32 weeks) so, the likely culprit of his poor teeth are that they were not formed properly and I was told it should have no influence on his permanent ones. They dentist also told me the biggest culprits causing plaque are foods rich in sugar and carbohydrates, including soda beverages, some juices, candy and many kinds of pasta, breads and cereals. It does not matter how much sugar an item has, it will act in the mouth for 20 minutes before it is nutralized by the saliva. So, essentially, it's the number of contacts with the teeth, not the amount of sugar. It is better for them to drink a glass of juice all at once than to carry around a sippy cup and take a drink every 10 minutes b/c in the latter case it is doing damage to their teeth the entire time. Just some things to consider.

I would also get a second opinion though, it seems like he's doing some major things without offering any valid explanation. Isn't prevention what we should be focusing on? We brush religiously in the morning and at night, use a fluoride rinse at night, floss on occassion, and take fluoride vitamins, all instructed by our dentist. Hopefully when we go back in a few months there will be no new cavities. Best of luck to you. Feel free to write.

D.,

Unless your 5 yo has Prader-Willi (and you don't mention it -- if he had it you'd mention it) the odds are heavily against him sneaking food.

Find another dentist.

:-D

I agree time for a new dentist. Most problems our kids have with the first sets of teeth is from the time we are pregnant with them. Was your son early? The teeth do allot of forming in the last few months. I have a great dentist in NE philli, wonderful place set up just for kids. And also helped to explain why my sons teeth were so bad, when I knew what he ate & I even brushed his teeth. Good luck!

I had the same experience with my 2 oldest children. Their dentist was the same exact way. The oldest didn't have quite as bad of teeth, so his wasn't a big deal. But my second one has HORRIBLE teeth! He had 2 pulled, and I actually forget how many are crowned. Anyway, the dentist insisted he was drinking juice and/or sneaking candy. I was the same as you. It isn't in my house! Plus, the other kids all eat the same thing, so why weren't their teeth falling out of their mouths? I personally think bad teeth are hereditary. My poor husband still has cavities that he's getting filled. He literally has a filling/needs to have a filling in every single one of his teeth. And his parents have bad teeth. I, on the other hand, just had my first cavity ever filled in Feb. 3 of my boys have bad teeth, 2 have good teeth, so I think it's at least partially hereditary. Anyway, this dentist wanted to put my son under general anesthesia, plus charge me over $2000 on top of my insurance. So I looked around and found another dentist in Wilkes Barre (about 2 hours away), got the whole thing done in 1 trip with local anesthesia and it only cost me $150. Anyway, I would look around. I know dentists are hard to find, but it could very well be worth it. Oh yeah, the caps that "Dr. Jay" put on have fallen out numerous times and have had to be replaced. There's no reason to give your money to someone who basically is calling either you or your son a liar!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

I would definately find a new dentist. My daughter has horrible tooth problems. She had 2 crowns done when she was 3. For all of you questioning why- we had a choice to pull them or fill them. Once the dentist was prepping them for the filling, there was not enough surface to adhere to the filling so she crowned them. They were causing pain to my daughter, so we could not let them go. She does not over do the sweets or pop, and we brush and floss daily. She has weak teeth, it is not her fault or ours. She will probably need more work done by the time she is 5, she has several other cavities (over $500 out of pocket, not including insurance) that we are waiting on. Our dentist does not use sedation. They are great at distracting the child and do not use anything on the children unless it is necessary. She had her crowns done with nothing at all and did fine. My son recently had 4 fillings with no medication either. (the one was near the nerve, but they were able to do it without numbing.)
The dentist should not be saying that your child is lying or sneaking food. That is just out of line. Our pediatric dentist said that some kids have great teeth (2 of my children have perfect teeth) others are not so lucky (my other 2 children). We go to Dentistry 4 Kids. They have an office in Wexford, but the dentist that my daughter likes practices in Pittsburgh, so we go there. If you want info, let me know.

Hi D.,
I have an 8 year old who had 5 caps put on when he was 5. We were advised that because the cavities were in between his teeth and because he would have them for another 5 years or so, they should be capped. His happened all at once - one appointment he had none and the next he had to have the caps done. They put him under and they were done at the hospital - very nervewracking. The dentist told us that the most likely culprit was what he was drinking - juice and milk, and just poor enamel on his teeth. We switched to sugar free drinks - you can get juice boxes that are sugar free now - watched what he ate and stepped up brushing, especially after eating something sugary. You can also get a peroxide rinse called PerOxyl at Walmart. It is what kids use who have braces. It seems to help too. I'd also look for a new dentist!

Okay, your son is 5, and the dentist thinks he can effectively sneak food without you knowing about it? Come on, what kind of an idiot does he think you are? I know that with my kids, they are going to leave a trail of some sort--open cabinets, chair pulled up to the counter, food crumbs or wrappers...whatever!

Since *I* trust that you know pretty much what your son is eating...I'll suggest something different. Is it possible that your son is grinding his teeth, and that is breaking the crowns?

I would get a second opinion. You son probably still has baby teeth, so why is he getting crowns ??

Take your child to YOUR dentist and get the opinion of a generalist rather than a specialist who is obviously making lots of money off you.

I learned from a specialist I went to once that if a child is sick when enamel is being formed on the teeth, then the enamel may not form correctly and that can cause decay. He said that a dentist can look at a child's teeth and sometimes can actually tell the parents the ages at which a child has had chickenpox or something. wow. That also explained why one of my kids' teeth had no enamel on it. Amazingly, the child whose candy I curbed had poor teeth, and the ones I haven't worried about havne't evey had cavities. Go figure.

But I would seriously consider getting another opinion, or, if you want to go to a specialist, get the name of another one from your dentist. Don't go to someone who tells you that you are lying. They are there to be helpful, not to make you feel incompetent. And You are paying for their services, so they should treat you as a customer who has other options, rather than make your life difficult.

If you take your child to your dentist for a cleaning, take the time to ask your dentist about the health of the adult teeth he doesn't yet have. Those are the teeth that are the most worrisome. And do everything you can, floride drops if it's not in your water, whatever, to promote the health of THOSE permanent teeth. And be sure you are not getting scammed on all those expensive services that are being provided by the specialist. Some kids do have really bad teeth, but if he doesn't have such bad teeth, why is the Dr doing all that work ? And why is he redoing a crown? Crowns are permanent fixes -- which is why I can't figure why he'd crown a baby tooth in the first place. ??

Hi D.,
I am with the other moms, that sounds like a lot of work for a 5 year old. Your talking about baby teeth here. I would definitely seek out another dentist. I have a 5 and 6 yr old and the most they have had done was a filling and they have some other damage, but the dentist is like why bother with them at this point because they are baby teeth. Go with your feelings on this and see another dentist.
A.