My DD came home from school today saying she saw the dental nurse, I didn't think much of it. So then I find in her bag a consent form and that she needs 3 fillings!!!

My DH and I are gutted, we thought we were doing OK on the dental care but obviously not. So we use normal toothpaste (not low fluoride) but am wondering if we should also use fluroide tablets and mouthwash. Also don't know if one of us should go with her when she has them or best to stay away. Am feeling so guilty, my DH is going mad about lollies sweet stuff etc but don't really think they have any more than the usual child, it's all in moderation.

Hate to think what the dental nurse is thinking about us!

My DD has had to have 3 teeth out! It is the same tooth on 3 sides and to be fair I think they came through a funny colour. But the dental nurse did give me a lecture, um hello I am a mother I already have mothers guilt about it!

Hope she is ok, my DD is a trouper with fillings etc so didn't even want us to come.

He he, just noticed that my DD's birthday is the day beofore yours and she will also be 6!

i know, my little boy has had to have a fluoride sealant put on as he's got 2 teeth with hypoplastic enamel, never formed properly either. yip guilt guilt guilt!! happy birthday to your little girl for sunday!

I think teeth condition is very much genetic with foods and brushing paying a small part only.

Growing up, I ate way too much sugary stuff but was pretty slack on my teeth hygiene. I didn't receive my first filling until I was 19years old.


for the mummy guilt though, it's never a nice feeling.

According to the dental nurse it has nothing to do with genetics, pfft! Only sugary foods and juice etc can cause tooth decay . Holly's front teeth came through with white spots on them, Hunter's have done the same, um they never had sugary foods or juice at that age, only breast milk (no bottles in bed etc) and some fruit/veg solids.

Happy 6th birthday to Madeline for Monday!

Sometimes despite very good dental hygiene & brushing, and watching their diet, they will still get cavities.
And of course the dental nurse will ask, do you give them lots of fruit juice or fizzy drink, raisins, bottle of milk before bed when younger? making you feel that you must have done one or all of these things for your child to have cavities at a young age.

My first filling was at 4yrs of age.
My DD had 2 fillings at 4.5yrs and a tooth pulled due to an abcess not long after she was 5.
She was very good throughout the procedures even getting an injection to get her tooth pulled.
DS had had 6 fillings and a tooth pulled due to an abcess when he was 10.
Due to a needle phobia, we had to be referred to hospital for him to be given anesthetic to get his tooth pulled.

when one of my boys had a filling I was told I caused it by blowing on their food when they were young. I transferred bacteria apparently - hows that for making a mother feel guilty!!!!

Yep, nothing like a good dollop of parental guilt. I have two children with no fillings and one who had 4 before the age of 5. It was his teeth, not his diet.

The other thing is that personally there is no way I would let a DN fill 3 teeth without a 2nd opinion. I don't trust them, one told my mother that my brother needed 4 fillings, when she took them to the dentist he needed NONE!

wow it's good to know i'm not alone and why do dental nurses say such horrible things!?! hippychick i didn't even think to question it but perhaps i will - i've already taken my 4.5 yr old to my hygienist as he has the type of teeth that no matter how much you brush he always has a faint white line around the gum edge, she just said that everyones different, guess it's the environment in your mouth!

and wonder if no fluoride in drinking water plays a part - probably!

I have taken my kids to the same school Dental Nurse since my oldest was 1, even though she hasn't been based at my sons 1st school for 9yrs.
She is the only one that my kids trust and she is very good, with less than co operative kids too, but others I have seen through the kids primary schools leave a lot to be desired.
DS now at Intermediate was meant to be called up in April, at his own dental nurse there. I have made 2 phone calls with promises that he'll be seen. Understaffed and too many kids to see.

Have since made an appt with my own dentist as I can claim back $100 for each child through Southern X as it is my choice to take them there, and want a thorough dental check up done.
DS being at High School next year gets one free dental check up and basic treatment a year through the same dentist.

I've emailed my dentist and they can see her at 3pm on Monday which is fab. You do have to wonder, these are baby teeth and although they have to last a few years yet, maybe could get away with leaving them, coating them or perhaps monitoring them. Of course I would get them done if the dentist deems it necessary. This particular nurse seems good but in saying that every time i'm there i hear all about the lastest politics etc of shutting down clinics and moving to the mobile clinic system, I'd hate to think that they are doing borderline unnecessary work to bump numbers up but it did cross my mind. Anyway, will reserve judgement till after I see Sarah on Monday, will give an update then!

Just out of interest does anyone give their kids fluoride tablets?

I dont trust the Dental nurse as far as I could throw her ... which prob would be far

To be honest - most kids have issues between the teeth - as this is where food gets stuck ... often it cant be seen, until way too late - as the DN is just looking at the surface, and cant see where an xray otherwise can.

Kids oral health is a HUGE thing for me - because mine is so terrible - and I dont wish it on anyone ... I wish I had had the education as a child/teen ... For this reason, I take my kids to a Paed Dentist - and have already spent in excess of $7k on my kids teeth (they are 5 and 7 years) - sounds huge - but $4k of that was fixing up an accident under a GA as my son was so terrified, and I wasnt prepared to wait 12 + months on the public waitlist (which we are still on - and 6 months later still havent received ... am looking forward to getting the call up to see how long we would have had to wait) ... and the other $3k was because my son had some decay that wasnt picked up by the DN - and by the time we realised - he needed to have 2 teeth removed - so we again choose to do this under GA .... the actual cost of the work itself was only about $900 each - and that was a huge amt of caps/preventitive measures while they were under the GA ... the rest has been theatre/GA costs. We sacraficed alot to pay - and I dont regret a cent.

We now see the Paed Dentist 6 monthly - she is BRILLIANT !!!

If your daughter has decay - it is important to get it fixed - however you cant help ... flossing (even in young kids) is VERY important - as is mouthwash .... our routine has changed ALOT. Kids mouths do harbour bacteria - and some worse then the others ... the dentist often does a salava test so we can see what is happening there also. They also reccomend chewing gum !!

Interesting.

DD1 was told that she had 2 fillings by our DN so I took her to my dentist for a 2nd opinion. Turns out there were no holes and she def did not need any fillings. So please we got the 2nd opinion.

She now sees a dentist regularly...I lost my faint in our DN when that happened.

I do help her floss her teeth but didnt realise that she should be using mouthwash as well.

When C needed the fillings (3 and a crown!), the DN was adamant that she could do it in her office, I had to really get grumpy and obstreperous to get a referral to a dentist so that he could have sedation. By getting the referral, the govt paid for the cost of the fillings and I only had to pay for the sedation. He never went back to the DN again.

Katey has terrible molars thanks to reflux. She recently had fillings in all her back molars, and some also in the second to last ones. DN did it, she was awesome. Numbed the gum and then injected some pain relief. Katey didn't mind it and happily went back for three sittings.

As for teeth and what causes filings - I am a firm believer than a lot of it is to do with genetics. The enamal on my teeth did not form properly, it's pitted like a golf ball instead of smooth like a billiard ball. You can not tell me that I would not be at more risk of tooth decay because of this?

I think we lucked in with good DN's by the sounds of others experiences!

I haven't read all the posts but please try not to feel guilty. Sounds like you have been doing a good job. I know for a fact that a lot comes down to genetics. I had my first filling when I was 4 and every year since and my Grandad was a dentist so my parents were extremely strict about teeth hygeine.

My sister who ate the exact same things as me didn't have her first filling until she was 23!

As far as you going with your child - I used to work at a dental surgery and 9 times out of 10 the child dealt with it better on their own. They may feel a bit scared but usually just get on with it. With parents in the room it was another story all together! By all means go along with your child but let them be by themselves in the room. Just be there after for her.

Good luck - and try not to worry

It would also be a good idea to talk to your dentist about getting fissure sealants put on her teeth. This is a harmless coating to prevent furture decay. Some dental nurses do it but others send you to a dentist - it shouldn't cost much and is excellent.

Sorry - just read back a couple of posts. It is very important to treat baby teeth as if left any decay can damage the adult tooth underneath.

Hope you can get it all sorted with as little stress as possible on you both

Sucky about playing the blame game.

The comment about blowing on the food - perhaps it wasn't addressed in a diplomatic manner, but its kind of right. I don't know about *blowing* on food, but certainly putting child's utensils in your mouth and then theirs etc.

Decay is caused by a bacteria steptoccocus mutans, and it usually gets into the child's mouth after being passed from the adults. So an adults oral health does influence a childs...I'm not sure about genetics, but a mothers health in pregnancy can have an impact too, as obviously teeth are formed in utero.

Sugary foods/starches etc feed the strep mutans bacteria = plaque = decay. (Breastfeeding toddlers and preschoolers doesn't cause decay, although dental people often claim it does - but this is often because it is compared erronously to cows milk, rather than understanding that it is a living substance which inhibits the growth of strep mutans, thus is ANTI cariogenic!)

The thing is, there isn't much point in giving parents lectures about what they might have done wrong. Everyone does the best they can. Its more constructive to give ideas about what to do differently next time.

Personally, I don't think fluoride in water makes a bit of difference, as my understanding of it is that it needs to be applied topically to the teeth to be useful, and ingesting it isn't particularly useful at all. But don't quote me on that.

I thought mouthwashes were a bad idea, as they dry the mouth out thus giving strep mutans more chance to flourish? They sort of set up a vicious cycle of having to keep on using them?

I wouldn't use mouthwash with my kids (I don't believe littlies would get the concept of gargling and spitting it out). I won't even use mouthwash myself - especially after seeing Petra's 'What's really in...' programme on toothpaste and mouthwashes. Fluoride in adult toothpaste is enough without you needing fluoride in water or fluoride tablets.

I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from a dentist if a dental nurse told me my children needed a filling though. Hopefully your dentist will tell you tomorrow that your daughter does not need any fillings!