Tooth decay in 3.5 yo?

meghans30

K went to the dentist yesterday and the dentist mentioned he had a small amount of decay on the back of his front teeth We brush the boys teeth am and pm; both take fluoride. Trevor has always had excellent check ups. Obviously, these are baby teeth so no need for an intervention yet, but I am concerned that he may predisposed to decay? Do any of you floss your little one's teeth? If you do, how?? Trying not to worry too much, but I am a bit OCD when it comes to teeth.

belle204

Even if they are baby teeth you want to be careful. They could still end up needing fillings and if it spreads to surrounding teeth that's not pretty. Trust me. A has had to have several fillings. Hers are from cavities that started before I really started flossing her teeth well and now I make sure we do it and am teaching her how to do it herself. So, even if you're brushing religiously and doing flouride it's not going to stop "flossing cavities." Her dentist said it sometimes helps to have them lay down across your lap while they're watching tv or something so they will open their mouth wider. I do that or use the floss things with the handles.

AnnapolisLari

Why wouldn't you need to intervene? If the decay is on the molars, you absolutely should, because those are the last baby teeth to be lost.

DS has an appointment next Friday for some major dental work. He's got 4 large cavities that may need to be crowned as well as pulpotomized. He's 4.5. We also brush twice a day and use flouride. It's just that we lived in a place that was on a community well when he was young and it never occurred to us that there wasn't flouride in the water. :-(

meghans30

AnnapolisLari:

Why wouldn't you need to intervene? If the decay is on the molars, you absolutely should, because those are the last baby teeth to be lost.

DS has an appointment next Friday for some major dental work. He's got 4 large cavities that may need to be crowned as well as pulpotomized. He's 4.5. We also brush twice a day and use flouride. It's just that we lived in a place that was on a community well when he was young and it never occurred to us that there wasn't flouride in the water. :-(

ok, so now I'm very concerned. Will be flossing and upping the dental care even more. Thanks ladies!