my five year old has a cavity...

Kesia - posted on 06/21/2009

Did your dentis tell you why he wanted to put your son to sleep. He may think its going to be allot of work to fill this tooth and he wants your son to have a good experience. So he isn't scared when he grows up. The Dentist I work with used magic koolaid, and some times some N2O (laughing gas) to help relax a child. It is so important for children to have good experiences at the dental office so they won't be scared like so many people are. Most fears start when you are a child. The tooth does need to be filled, kids can get abceses just like adults if there teeth aren't cared for. Get a second opinion if you want your little guy to just be relaxed with magic koolaid or laughing gas. Or ask if your dentist will try that first before going all the way to sleep. good luck kesia

Lindsey - posted on 06/19/2009

mine just put a cap on the baby tooth !

Lisa - posted on 06/18/2009

This is going to be a copy and paste from my reply in a similar thread...



I recently had my DD2 in getting 3 fillings. She's not 4 yet so the dentist recommended we get it done in hospital under a general anesthetic. We're in Australia and don't have health insurance, it cost us $1200 AUD but was sooo worth it! I too had a filling at 5, those days without anesthetic, and to this day I have a serious phobia with dentists (I haven't been to one in 10 years... oops) The sound of the drill gives me ear ache reminescent of the pain of having a nerve hit, which is what happened when I was 5. I love this new dentist we've found though, I'll be taking all my kids to see her. We used to go somewhere else but I was never happy with anyone we saw LOL A good dentist is as important as a good doctor ;)

Edie - posted on 06/18/2009

My 4th child has horrible teeth he is 4 now but he has had cavities since he was 2. First don't let the dentist guilt you into thinking its you. I have 5 kids and my oldest daughter has had 2 her whole life, my boys have all had bad teeth but not as bad as my youngest son. Oh your not brushing his teeth or hes eating to much junk. NO i had bad teeth when i was little and I don't care what they say it is hereditary to a degree. My son had work done when he was 3, he even had to have one pulled, They gave him a sleepy juice. It made him drosy and they also used the laughing gas to give him that extra bit of calmness. If the dentist is patient you can work with it. My son had magor cavities at 3 and he did ok. I have to take him back to do the other side and thats going to be 400.00. I don't say this lightly i am deathly afraid of the dentist. When you find a great one don't let them go. I don't think there is any reason he would need to be knocked out for a few small cavities. I wouldn't let them do it. I would try the laughing gas first and see how your son reacts.

Alesisa - posted on 06/17/2009

My son is seven now but when he was four he had his first cavity. His dentist gives him a valium to take 30 minutes before the appointment, which cakms the child down so they do not freek out. My son has had some pretty bad cavity due to soft spots on his teeth and he was never put under.

Sandra - posted on 06/16/2009

My son was four and the dentist recommended my son to a pediatric dentist. My son had deep morels so all the food would get trapped in the morels so he had four fillings to fill and also to prevent more damage to the teeth because he would have these teeth for awhile. This dentist has the same info as our dentist did in Kelowna, BC I just can't find a site for our dentist we used there..
http://www.childentspec.com/dental_quest...
Hope this might help.

Christina - posted on 06/16/2009

My son had two cavities on his baby teeth and my dentist chose to put on a cap rather than do a filing since the tooth would eventually fall out. I have never heard of them putting a child under for a filing so I would inquire more with the dentist to see what other options you have. Good luck!