HELP my son has bottle rot?

Question

ever since my son cut his front two teeth he has had these brown marks, so i stopped giving him his milk bottle at night, he was about 7 months at the time, he is now 18 months and the marks never went away, but it never got worse so me and my husband decided not to take him to the dentist, but now they are getting a little worse and his enamel is just falling off, and were the brown used to be is now turning black. i know i need to take him to the dentist but my whole family thinks im overexagerating the prob, and my insurence doesnt cover what he will need done, we have tri care, i am looking for anyone who has had this problem w there baby, what happend and how things worked out. thank you for your time!!

Answer 1

I sympathize with your financial situation, and it's something that shouldn't be ignored. BUT, the longer you wait, the worse it will be, and the more it will cost. Decay does not just go away. Take your son to the dentist, and they should tell you the treatment plan, including the costs, what insurance should pay, what you will have to pay. A pediactric dentist would be the best at his age. Go see a dentist, then at least you will know what work needs to be done and the cost, instead of just assuming you can't afford it.

Answer 2

It is important to take him to the dentist ASAP and have whatever work done that the dentist is recommending. I'm assuming that the teeth you're talking about is the upper front teeth. He will have those, or should have those until about 7-8 yrs old. If you don't have this problem fixed, it can and probably will cause damage to his permanent teeth that are already forming.

I understand about your ins - my husband and I have the same ins co. We haven't used it a whole lot, but I can sympathize.

Maybe your dentist will let you make payments. It depends on how deep the decay (cavity) is when considering what work will need to be done. But either way, you need to have his teeth fixed. If you're taking him to a pediatric dentist, they work w/ children like this all the time. To make your son more comfortable and easier for them to work, they may be able to give him something to make him sleepy. If they haven't offered, I would ask.

Don't let people tell you that your over exaggerating. This is your son's health and unfortunately not too many people are aware of the possible problems that can arise later by not taking care of the primary dentition (baby teeth).

I hope everything works out for you.

Answer 3

See your dentist. Only a dental professional can tell you exactly what caused this problem and the necessary treatment. You should be given a financial estimate by your dentist before any treatment is performed and all your questions should be answered, including payment arrangements for amounts not covered by insurance. Decay in primary teeth (baby teeth) can lead to severe problems, which can include baby root canals or even extracting the teeth and having an appliance cemented in the mouth to hold the space open until the adult tooth comes in. See your dentist sooner rather than later.

Answer 4

can you get governmental assistance?

have you even talked with a dentist over the phone regarding the problem? That would have been first on my mind.

Juice is bad for this if it stays in his mouth for long periods of time, like at night if he falls asleep while drinking some can stay in the mouth causing the teeth to rot.

I am afraid by your description that his teeth are not going to get better, the dentist may pull them or leave them as they will be coming out for a second set anyway.

You need to know how to prevent this from happening to the rest of his teeth so you have to speak with a professional.

don't wait, just cause you can't afford it. dental health is very important and is a factor of health overall.

hope everything works out.

Answer 5

Well, I am not sure about what you need to do but I am a fellow Tricare insuree. I take you are a military family? The reason why I ask is cause I have Tricare's dental program also through United Concordia. I know they they automatically enroll your kids at age 4 but you can call and have them enrolled early at the age of 2. Now, your son is only 18 months so I am not sure what would happen in that case but you might want to call and see if they can help. Atleast enroll wih them if you have not already..... if your military that is.

Answer 6

You do need to take your baby to a dentist, because those rotting teeth can't be comfortable for him! If you haven't been to the dentist, you can't know what he needs or what the insurance will/won't cover.

I had bottle rot as a child, and had my teeth pulled. :( It's not a great way to go through childhood, but at least it wasn't causing me pain or illness any longer.

Answer 7

You should have taken him to the dentist as soon as brown showed up. Come on, brown spots in the first place is horrible, and permanent damage. You have probably ruined your son's teeth. No one should ever give their baby a bottle at bed, it is well known to be a problem. DON'T LISTEN TO PEOPLE SAYING YOU ARE EXAGGERATING THE PROBLEM, they obviously know nothing about this. I have seen the results of this , NO MORE TEETH, your baby will probably need FAKE TEETH put in.

Answer 8

Honey, you need to call Tri Care and find out what they suggest that you do. If they have someone that will cover it, then they will send you to the right person and I suggest you take the baby there regardless of how far it is. This is serious and can affect him for the rest of his life. Good luck and God Bless!!

Answer 9

my daughter had it and it covered her front, top, four teeth. she had to go in and have them removed. if you wait too long it can cause gum problems. dont worry he will still get his adult teeth and they will more than likely be fine. hers were. check with your local division of family services and see about medicaid they cover it all for kids if you qualify