Cap or pull top 4 front teeth?

Question

My 23month old daughter has bad decay on her top 4 front teeth--3 of 4 have broken down and of those 3, 2 are broken down to barely past gumline and 1 of those 3 is black (the other 2 barely past gumline are turning darkly discolored, too). The other one is more beige in color with the top decay eroding the enamel. She also needs crowns on top 2 molars and fillings on bottom 2 molars. I feel so bad for her! She does not ever have junk food, but my mom and sister had lots of dental work done, so dentist said could be hereditary or the night nursing (I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't recommended by another mom I work with who didn't have probs with her son's teeth and she bf til he was 3 and didn't even brush his teeth!). What do you recommend? Cap or Pull? Or a combo of the diff. teeth? I'm worried about infection/abcess or speech problems either way. Any advice?

I told her pediatrician when I first noticed the discoloration, but he said to wait until she was 2. I kept bringing it up to him at every subsequent visit and he always said wait until she is 2 to even see a dentist--because she wouldn't be able to sit still for him! I took her to a family dentist and he said wait til she was 4 til they fell out on their own! I wish I'd never listened to them...this all could've been prevented. Finally, I found a good pediatric dentist and he recommended capping all, but because of the severity I am up in arms about it. I don't want her to have speech or eating probs, but I don't want her to get an infection or die, either! And, no, I was not neglectful--I followed what I thought the pediatrician AND dentist said was right. She would've had the work done Wed., but she got the flu and so it will have to be put off for a week or two now.

Answer 1

A pediatric dentist would provide you with the best answer. Either way, she will have to have anesthesia/sedation for this and MAKE SURE the dentist will do whatever you decide IN A HOSPITAL and not in his office. She needs to be closely monitored during the procedure by people trained in sedating children. Porcelain caps/crowns would be the best cosmetic result but also the most expensive. It will be hard for her to eat/talk with no front teeth so I would pick the silver ones if the porcelain ones are too expensive. I have seen them use porcelain veneers just on the front of the silver ones so she doesn't look like she is wearing a grille.

You are right to be worried about infection/abscess so try to get it done as soon as possible. It is also most likely painful. When I see kids like this it breaks my heart--I know how bad one tooth ache feels. Don't be too hard on yourself. Live and learn.

It is usually caused by milk (human or otherwise) or juice sitting on the teeth for extended periods. Always brush her teeth (or at least wipe them off with a wet washcloth) after eating or drinking anything except plain water. This should start as soon as a baby gets her first tooth. Even healthy foods contain substances that can break down tooth enamel and cause cavities. It is even more important if there is a family history of weak tooth enamel. Make sure she drinks a fluoridated water supply or takes a fluoride supplement if your water is not fluoridated. You can get a prescription for this from your doctor or dentist.

Answer 2

When we adopted one of our kids, she had much of the same problem. Fortunately, she did have enough of her top front left to cap but they were badly decayed. If the dentist thinks there is enough left, capping would probably be best. That's what they were able to do with our daughter's top teeth. She hasn't had any speech problems and with the caps she has a much prettier smile while we wait for them to come out and her adult teeth to come in. Incidentally, she was about the same age as your daughter when we had this done. She's almost 6 now. Our son had one of his pulled because it was so bad, but it was a back tooth so it hasn't been too bad. The dentist had to put in a spacer to hold the space until his adult tooth comes in to prevent the other teeth from moving into that spot. That was better than leaving it in because it always hurt him so badly. No real problems to speak of except that, of course, he can't have anything sticky to eat at all because it will out the spacer. Good luck!

Answer 3

If you decide to pull her teeth, she will be without those teeth until she would normally cut them which is about 4 years down the road. They sound so badly decayed, the dentist may not be able to save them anyway to cap them. There has to be a health pulp for the tooth to live when the teeth are capped. If some of the teeth are down to the gumline, they may already be beyond saving and will have to be extracted.

Answer 4

I'm sorry to be negative, but it could be said that you have been neglectful in not taking your baby to a dentist as soon as you noticed decay. Her teeth didn't get like that over night. Take her to the dentist asap and let them decide what is best for your child.

****Well that's much different! Sorry for assuming. I've had many foster children that come to me with such horrible decay that I'm very sensitive to the issue.
I would definitely make a complaint against the dentist who told you that!
My dentist saw my children as soon as they started getting teeth. He gave me a heads-up on do's & don'ts.
Take the new dentists advice. Don't pull unless you have to.

Answer 5

My son was almost 3 when i took him to his dentist and his 3 front teeth was getting bad so they capped them. but here in the past few months all of his caps came off and they are the back they way they were. we wasted money on getting them capped and it didnt do any good im not takeing him back to the dentist to get them capped over again because i know it wont do any good. i would ask her dentist about what is best for her. but my opinion is that their teeth are going to fall out here pretty soon. i hope i was of some help. good luck.

Answer 6

pulling a childs baby teeth before they are ready to come out can lead to them needing braces in a bad way later in life and speech problems while they are out if the dentist caps them he will make sure there is no infection and probably give her an antibiotic my cousinhad to have all of her baby teeth capped and all was well with her and her grown up teeth came in beautifully she never had any infection after the capping but it looked awful because back then they did caps in silver instead of clear (she is 23 now) my father had custody of her and she had this done right after moving in withus and she never complained of it being painful during or after the procedure but she did complain of toothaches when she moved in with us

Answer 7

I run a orthodontic laboratory and my suggestion would be to seek dental advice NOW! Do not let this go....If she has ANY pain you need to extract the decayed teeth right Now. Your child could possibly die from infection from a decayed tooth that has spread beyond the gingival margin.

Answer 8

my friends daughter had the same problem and they had them pulled. I now it sucks but they will grow back in a few years and her dentist said the problem usually goes away by the time they get their adult teeth in

Answer 9

what had the dentist suggested is the best rout to take I myself would get my babies teeth pulled out so that she won't look like she is a ghetto baby. Like she is going to play in the videos on BET please pull the teeth out really they will grow back after all they are baby teeth.

Answer 10

i say cap. if your kid goes through the beginning of her life different than the rest of her peers (missing teeth) she might begin to feel different and that could affect her mental development. it is very important at that age to feel acepted. there is a strong correlation with acceptance at a young age and having healthy adult relationships later in life.