cavities on a toddler?

Question

i have a 20 month old boy and he has one (maybe 2) very small cavities. it looks like a small brown dot, i know i have to getit fixed but i was just wondering how they might go about that? i had a cavitie once but it was so small that i didnt even need a shot for numbing. could that be what he might need done, will he be in alot of after pain? plz anyone who has young childern that has had this prob plz let me know how it was handled. thank you very much

Answer 1

You need to start brushing hour baby's teeth. Do not let him go to bed with a bottle or without brushing his teeth.

Answer 2

Well i just took my son to the dentist for the first time and he is 3 what they did was looked at his teeth first and cleaned them and after he was done they said he had 5 cavities so i had to bring him back in but his cavities weren't deep enough to get any numbing all they did was made some type of paste and brushed it on his teeth the they do a follow up vist in 6 months. But there is one thing they have like a body strap little ones tend to move so they need for them to stay still before they do anything they explain what is and they have you sign a paper for permisson for them to use the body strap. And another thing is they don't allow the parents back there.

Answer 3

The sooner you get it checked out the better. If it's very small there is a good chance they can fill it without numbing him. My son was 3 and had a couple of cavities like that (stupid mommy had been letting him brush his own teeth - I learned my lesson on that!). He did so well.

I'd definitely recommend taking him to a pediatric dentist. They are so good with kids and they have ways of working with them, to help them not be afraid.

Answer 4

First of all, take him to a pediatric dentist. They have so many things to interest a small child and they are very patient. My 2 year old needed a crown put on a tooth that didn't erupt all the way and the way they did it was a combination of laughing gas to relax her and an oral sedative to calm her. The laughing gas was administered by a little red nose that fit loosely over her own nose. They called it a Snoopy nose and demonstrated to her how it worked. It didn't look threatening at all and the amount of laughing gas it emitted was small, but constant. The oral sedative was in a tiny cup and it was flavored. Everything in a pediatric dentist's office is flavored, even down to the rubber gloves! I don't remember if she got a shot of novocaine or not, but she was very nervous and scared and the doctor recommended the procedure we went with. Unfortunately, she was one of apparently a very small percentage of children who have an adverse reaction to oral sedatives and that was not discovered until the procedure had begun. Instead of calming her, it made her even more anxious. What they did then was to wrap her in a "papoose" blanket so she couldn't hurt herself and the doctor and assistant worked very quickly to get the job done ASAP. They let me stay in the room the whole time, talking to her and they sang lullabies to her and told her how great she was doing the whole way through. They were really amazing. She's now 11 years old and that molar they crowned just fell out about a month ago. She doesn't even remember getting it and we still go to that dentist. My daughter just loves her! You may have to search a bit to find a pediatric dentist that will allow you to go into the exam and treatment rooms with your child, but I absolutely would not consider NOT going. It took us a while to find one, but we did and she is so fantastic! We've been going to her for 10 years now and all the dentists in her practice allow the parents in. I have referred so many friends to her.

Answer 5

I have a fourteen month old that chipped his tooth and I took him to the dentist to find out if he were okay. The dentist told me that babies and toddlers with baby teeth don't get cavities there teeth just decay. So it could be the onset of decay. Cavities and so on you only need to be concerned with when they have their permanent teeth. You need to get him to the dentist.

Answer 6

they may not be cavities.. Toddlers are still getting the enamal on their teeth and it could be food stains.. Ask you doctor about it at the next checkup..

My daughter had her 2 front teeth purple at about the same age and it turned out the enamal was not totally formed.. he gave me some flouride drops for her and she's never had a cavity and she is 24 years old now.. Good luck

Answer 7

my son had many cavities, and had to have fillings and a cap at 3 yrs old (a combination of bad teeth and an aversion to toothbrushing) Find a pediatric dentist, they may have to sedate him to fill the teeth, but its best to take care of it as early as possible. A visible cavity can be much bigger underneath than it looks.

Answer 8

sometimes they dont need shots, if the cavity is small enough. but if you're worried about shots you can do 1 of 2 things. 1) there are dentists who specifically treat children who will give them laughing gas before the shot 2) again dentists who treat children, but do not give shots. instead, they use a laser 2 treat the cavity. all you're child will feel is trickling of water, because the laser is water powered.

Answer 9

take him for his checkup. they might just give you flouride drops to prevent any further cavities. make sure he brushes his teeth every morning and night. Milk decays teeth so make sure there's no milk before bed unless you brush him after. My daughter ended up with 4 root canals due to milk at bedtime. And she was so young, there was nothing to do but get caps since her adult teeth dont come in for 3 more years. They had to sedate her and she got all new caps. Poor thing. Plus it cost me 700 bucks!. if its not taken care of, then the infection will go into their gums and damage the adult teeth.

Answer 10

I wouldn't do anything to them unless they get worse & hurt him because he's going to lose his baby teeth anyway. I have a family member, a boy, age 5, needed 3 teeth capped and the 2 front ones on top pulled. They did it outpatient at the hospital and put him to sleep. He was so mad when he woke up, poor baby but he soon got over it. He didn't complain of pain at all afterward. He went right back to normal play activities.

Answer 11

Take him to the Dentist he/she will know what to do. Probably is just a stain, but if it is a cavity and the Dentist tries to do what they did to you, he is going to be o.k.