My ds has a small cavity in his bottom molar (second to the last) and his dentist says he needs to be numbed and have it filled. This was only his third visit to the dentist. The first two visits were with a different dentist who didn't feel it necessary to x-ray at such a young age and said ds teeth looked great and he had no cavities. He was too far and so I switched to a pediatric office close to home and he x-rayed ds teeth yesterday and discovered the cavity (not visible to the naked eye). My friend's son goes there too and so far had to have 3 cavities filled and now has an abscessed tooth which has to be extracted even with such dilgent cleaning. Anyway, I'm feeling alittle suspicious and will be getting a 2nd opinion. But I'm curious as to why one dr would x-ray and another not. Anyone out there with experiences in the dental arena with very young kids? Also, will laughing gas be effective enough so ds won't feel any pain from the shot? BTW he turned 4 in Oct. Thanks.

By Carolk on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 11:28 am:

All I can say is that my son's dentist does not take x-rays and he just went in January and has been going to the dentist since he was 3. I'm always told that he teeth look great and he's never had a cavity. He will turn 5 in May. I never asked why she doesn't take x-rays. If your gut tells you to get a second opinion, then you should get one.

As far as laughing gas, I have no idea. They tried that with me when I was 7 and I screamed for my Daddy. I was probably scared of the mask, but as soon as my Dad came back there I was fine. I don't know if I helped or not, but just thought that I would tell you my experiences.

By Kernkate on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 11:41 am:

Good idea to get a second opinion. I know with my 2 DS's I think some dentist are just out for the money...IMO. I had taken my sons to 2 different dentist before I was happy. Now my DD who is 3 has to start going and I am taking her to my family dentist who I feel comfortable with. I had a few bad experiences with pediatric dentist.
The one dentist would give my DS medicine to make him drowsy before he go to the dentist, which always made my DS sick to his stomach. So I changed dentist then, because that was the only way this dentist would do childrens teeth, my son was 4 at that time, he is now 18 so that is going back many years.
As far as X-Rays I don't remember my kids having them until they were at least 6.
Needless to say all my kids now go to our family dentist who I have been going to for years and trust.
Good luck and go with your gut feeling.

By Tklinreston on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 12:17 pm:

Thanks for your responses thus far... I guess I just don't understand why pediatric dentists take x-rays while family dentist usually don't. I did see a tiny little gray spot (even he said it was a very small cavity)and it seems logical it should now be taken care of but if x-rays weren't taken what would have happened to that cavity? Presumably it would have worsened....I'll let you all know what the 2nd dentist says but at this point just alittle confused and very skeptical.

By Kate on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 12:29 pm:

My pediatric dentist has never taken x-rays and my oldest is almost eight years old. Teeth have all been fine. I took my oldest when she was one and two for some staining on the back of her teeth. He said it was normal and it would go away (my second had it too) and he never charged me for those visits. We were never charged until age three when she had an actual cleaning. He seems quite good and honest.

As for your friend....I, of course, have no idea what the child's teeth are really like, but his tooth problems sure seem excessive! I mean, an ABSCESS??? At his age? Sadly some dentists DO try to just make money. Capping teeth all silver is something that seems prevalent and one of the primetime news shows did an episode on that, so be wary if a dentist suggests silver caps, too!

By Tklinreston on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 12:46 pm:

One of my co-workers mom is a dental hygienist and she says it's not necessary to take x-rays at this age when there isn't any visible signs of cavities and some kids who've had little cavities just kept them until their molars fell out since they didn't grow severly worse. All in all she thinks we shouldn't do anything for now and just keep an eye out to see if it gets worse. More and more my gut tells me this pediatric dentist is definitely being overly aggressive. He told me it was a tiny cavity but if I didn't do anything now he would have to do a root canal and get a crown... scared me half to death. Anyway, I'll continue to keep you informed as I find out more info and opinions. Thanks.

By Kate on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 01:43 pm:

Root canal?? It's a BABY tooth, it HAS no roots!!! Tread carefully with this guy....

By Mommyathome on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 02:49 pm:

Our dentist does x-rays. My oldest DD had an x-ray the first time she went. I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was just standard. I kind of liked the x-ray view. She had no cavities and we could see all of her permanent teeth that have yet to come down. We were able to see if there will be crowding or enough space for the new ones to come in. It was kind of reassuring to me.
Anyway, the dentist you took your son to sounds a little shady to me. The whole abcessed tooth thing is a little odd. I would definitely get a second opinion. Good luck...keep us updated

By Carolk on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 02:52 pm:

I forgot to mention, that like Kate, my son goes to a pediatric dentist also. She never took any x-rays. She is really good with kids too. My son loves to go to the dentist.

With the mention of root a canal, if it was me, I'd get a second opinion.

I guess you could say that I AGREE 100% with everything that Kate said.

By Annie2 on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - 08:33 pm:

My dentist takes xrays and am ready to tell him to stop. It seems every time we go for a cleaning, they want it every 6 months, I stretch it out to nine or so, they take xrays. That bumps up the office visit extremely high. TIMES four kids and myself....I'm putting his kids through school.....with my family!
I thought I was the only one that thought this!

By Tklinreston on Wednesday, March 3, 2004 - 03:11 pm:

Guess what?? I ended up having a root canal this morning! I had a sore tooth for a few days now but nothing serious. Anyway, it turned out I had an infection which required an emergency root canal. Go figure. But, Annie, I agree. I know that 6 month check ups and cleaning are pretty standard but even in adults, they don't take x-rays every 6 months. BTW, my dentist recommended Act Flouride Rinse for my ds. Between Flossing, brushing and the rinse, the enamel where the cavity is could actually remineralize and correct itself if it's a very small cavity to begin with. I spent close to 20 minutes on my ds's teeth last night and he was VERY cooperative. Am I being obsessive??? My husband thinks so... oh well.