Should We Fill Out 3 Yr Olds Cavity

Hi Theresa,

I also have a three year old, who needed couple of filling on her teeth. We didn't know she needed until we went to get her teeth cleaned for the first time, and they told us, after the x-ray, that she had couple of cavities. We went ahead an got her cavities filled because even though the baby teeth will eventually fall out, if the cavity gets any bigger or worse, it can ruin the adult teeth. I personally had bad teeth when I was a kid, and didn't want my daughter going through what I went through, with toothache and all that goes along with bad dental hygiene, so we went ahead and got it taken care of. Best of luck whatever you choose.

L.

Cavities are the result of a bacterial infection. Not only will the infection spread to other teeth but throughout the body. Not to scare you too badly but a 12-year-old boy died in February 2007 when bacteria from an abscessed tooth spread to his brain.

My son was a "grazer" when he was a toddler. The dentist said that his eating all the time contributed to his first cavity. Since it was on part of a tooth that was still growing in, we had to wait to fill it. By the time we had it filled, he had 5 teeth with cavities. The dentist said that once you get one, it spreads to the other teeth.

We changed his eating and brushing habits and now his adult teeth are all cavity free.

Ha!!! Finally I can give some of my own experience to someone! And, what a coincidence, it just happened today. My 8 year old has had a cavity for a few years that I have been procrastinating with that same thought in mind "It will just fall out." Well, it ended up turning into a HUGE, EXPENSIVE problem. It began hurting her to the point of crying and sobbing one night. I did an emergency visit to my adult Dentist (because I didn't have a Pediatric Dentist at the time,) who did an x-ray and told me that nothing was visibly wrong and to give her some pain meds. Now- 1 year later- I was flossing her teeth and noticed a dark hole going all the way into her gums on that same tooth that had bothered her so badly. I got her immediately into a wonderful pediatric Dentist who had to extract that tooth today and fill the cavity in the tooth next to it because the tooth was rotting away and breaking off in chunks in her mouth. He had to insert a spacer thats wrapped around the tooth next to it to prevent the teeth from shifting and not leaving room for her permanent tooth to grow in. He sent the tooth home with us and I almost lost my lunch at the sight of it. Its so rotten and green and black. Bad teeth can cause so many health issues all around the body. My advise...have that cavity filled! It will save him from further pain and discomfort and health issues down the road, and save your wallet.

If the tooth with the cavity is or will be next to an adult tooth, it can cause a cavity on the adult tooth.

I would get it filled. I know that it is going to fall out but if you leave the tooth unfilled your 3 yr old will be in pain and having a cavity can cause tooth decay to the adult teeth underneath.

I used to be a dental assistant when I was first married (almost 14 years ago), now I'm a stay at home mom to 4 boys. That said, I cannot stress to you the importance of taking care of baby teeth because they can and will affect the development of those permanent teeth. You don't want to let a cavity go on a baby tooth. Have it filled. It might cost you some money, but trust me, if your child is only 3 years old, it could be 4 or 5+ years before that tooth falls out! That cavity will get bigger and bigger and eventually could rot out the tooth. Not good. It will affect those permanent teeth! (the permanent tooth absorbs the root of the baby tooth). If you had a few months before the tooth was coming out, I wouldn't bother, but considering you have years to wait...I would have that taken care of ASAP. That's just my 2 cents -- good luck with your decision. P.S. - If you decide to do it, make sure you are seeing a good dentist for kids. It will not be a big deal and they will make sure your child is comfortable.

My daughter had a cavity at around 3 and our dentist recommended we have it filled, so that the infection would not pass on. It is not just about preserving the baby tooth, as I originally thought--it is about preventing infection in her mouth from the tooth.

Get them filled! Your child still has 3-4 years before her teeth start falling out and cavities don't sit idle. They will continue to worsen until the cavity reaches the root, then your child could get an absess or an infection filled with puss. Your dentist is the best advisor in this case, not anyone else.

My daughter had a tooth filled, although it was not a cavity, it was to help strengthen the tooth. Some of her teeth don't have enough enamel due to her being sick as a baby... Anyway I had it filled because it was hurting her. Baby teeth don't have roots so I'm not sure they can go deep enough to hurt. Maybe you should ask the dr. if you let it go if there is a chance of it bothering her. In that case I would have it filled.

One thing I would ask is if they use silver feelings. Our daughters dentist only uses the whilte because the silver have mercury. The hygenist also said it is a little less scary for the little ones. It's a different technique.

This is a tough decision and I hope you find the answers you are looking for. It can be so hard figuring out what the right thing to do is.

Depending on what tooth it is. I filled my 3 year old's cavity because it was on a molar and they will keep their baby molars until they are 11 years old. Ask the dentist if it is a tooth that will be lost sooner rather than later. Also, I chose to fill it with the metal, since it will fall out at 11, I did not spend the extra money to have the filling white. Good luck!!

Well my son had a cavity at age 3 and my dentist said for us to just watch it and when he was 4 it was worse so we did fill it. Now if it gets bad it can damage the gums which would affect the perm teeth. We kinda contemplated as well because it wasn't cheap!

Question: Have you ever had a tooth ache? If so you would not make your child keep a tooth that had a cavity in it. Get your child to a pediatric dentist and have it filled and then ask about the protective layer that they can put on the rest of the molars to help keep them cavity free until they come out naturally!!!!!

I don't know about the severity of the cavity, but the teeth can sometimes repair themselves with proper dental hygene. I had a cavity that my dentist put on a "watch list" and the next time I went in, it had filled itself in! Of course, as the other said below, if the child is in pain or it goes unmonitored, that's a different story.
Check out the information on www.toothsoap.com. Their Questions tab has information that might be helpful.

We filled our daughters. The dentist said if we didn't do it and they got worse and they might have to be pulled. The problem there would be that if they were pulled too soon the surrounding teeth wouldn't hold their place and then the adult teeth wouldn't have room. He said baby teeth are like place holders for the adult teeth and very important to keep healthy.

We had our three year old's cavities filled. The dentist told us if we left they untreated they could get worse and eventually get to the root causing her a lot of pain.

I don't know what the "right" answer is, but my 4-yr old has already had 3 cavities filled. My husband also thinks there was no need to do it since they will fall out, but that's what the dentist recommended.

Hi Theresa,
My son has very weak teeth. He had a cavity we did not know about (only complained about it once and we thought he had something stuck inbetween his teeth). It turned into an abscess and it had to be pulled- which I did not discover until his cheek was puffed up one morning (still no additional complaints from him that it was hurting). Then he had to have two crowns put on other cavities on his weak teeth.

Basically, children do not typicallly loose their teeth until 6 or older for the small teeth and it can be much longer for the molars. So you have to consider that your child's cavity will keep on growing during that period until the tooth falls out. Worse case, it can turn into an abscess like with my son and if it isn't caught in time, the infection can go to the brain. Like others have posted, it can effect the adult teeth (although I don't know the details). Just based on my experience, I reccommend having it filled sooner than later just in case! Good luck!

Well, I've had cavities filled in my daughter's mouth because the dentist told me that the decay will get up into the root and that's bad. Also you don't want to have the tooth pulled because the other teeth will kind of adjust to fill in the space making it harder for the adult tooth to come in. So it's possible that the dentist told me that because they wanted to get the money from the insurance company, but it made sense when I thought about it.

Theresa, its important to fill a cavity here are some simple reasons why, 1. it affects the way they eat. 2. if left untreated it absolutley can dammage the tooth coming in. 3. your child is only 3 left untreated it will get bigger and can become unsightly. I know its hard to justify having cavities filled in baby teeth but its well worth it. My oldest daughter did not tell me that it hurt to chew, she didnt know that it was unusual, by the time she went to the dentist the cavities in her baby teeth were so bad that she had 2 pulpotomies (root canals on baby teeth) 2 had to be pulled and 2 needed to be filled. we had to go to a pediodontist, because a regular dentist wouldnt help her because the dammage was so bad. everything said and done, it was not very expensive and now she knows if something hurts to say something but it also taught her and I both alot about what to watch for. now in her adult teeth she has only had 2 or 3 cavities and they were small enough to do the air abrasion. bottom line is that you need to get this taken care of and the sooner the better!! good luck!

Hi Theresa,

I only have one thing to say...Have you thought of whether it hurts her. I understand this is not a permanant tooth, but if it was hurting my baby, I would fill it!
Good luck with making your decision.

D. R

Depending on which tooth it is it could last for as little as 3 years or as long as 7+ years. Would you or you husband leave a cavity for three years? What would happen in the mean time?
My daughter had such a bad cavity she had to have a crown put on. We had that done when she was 4 and she still has that tooth and she is almost 8.

We have spent so much money on dental work for our son who is now 9. At three 1/2 he had 7 cavities some that could be seen with the naked eye. All where filled and next came the silver crown with baby root canal (not the same as an adult root canal). Now we use perscription tooth paste and have better results. That said, you should have the tooth filled. The health of our mouth affects the rest of the bodies health and an unfilled cavity can have significant health issues if it is left and an infection results. These teeth will not fall out for another 3-4 years at the earliest. I know it is not cheap and insurance doesn't cover everything, but I would have it filled.

Good luck

It depends on how bad the cavity is and what tooth it's on. If not taken care of, the cavity can easily turn into a root canal, which in my opinion can effect the adult teeth coming in. Try looking into a pediatric dentist who is trained for that kind of situation before just leaving it.