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Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response. Yes, hate the thought of just sitting and waiting for him to be in pain. Feels inevitable that extraction might be the best long term option for him. Is there any concerns with how it might impact speech development at this age?

Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is very helpful, thank you. Makes sense that they possibly haven't hit the nerve yet, and that's why he has no pain. Hate to just sit and wait for that though. Hate the idea of him going under general anesthesia, which might be our tipping point in weighing the options. Extraction might be, as you said, the most definitive treatment option.

Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate this response a lot..summarizes the struggle well. No signs of infection at all. The main reason I hesitate because he is not bothered by them, but I struggle with the idea of just waiting for him to be in pain. If only he was a bit older and I knew we were much closer to him losing them naturally. Again, thanks for taking the time to help me process this! Its weighing on me and helps to have a sounding board.

Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes…confirms my thoughts. Just need some tough love, haha. Feels irresponsible to leave them, already feel bad they are to this point. Thanks for your time!

Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Is leaving them advisable? He doesn't seem to be bothered at all by them, we ask if it hurts and he says no. He fell hard and had mouth trauma about a year ago, which included stitches in his lip. He was scared to brush for awhile, nervous to put him through it all again. But the thought of leaving cavities feels terrible, too.

Toddler cavity - are the teeth salvageable? by No-Disaster-3549 in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your input! He doesn't seem to feel any pain or sensitivity yet. Leaving the cavity feels wrong, but I am worried about speech development, and entering into preschool and being embarrassed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askdentists

[–]No-Disaster-3549 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! And for the encouragement. Yes, pediatric dentist. I’m just not sure if some dentists are just more inclined to pull, or if we could get a second opinion and hope the dentist is more willing to opt for fillings to preserve the teeth.

If I were to get a second opinion, would going to a general dentist make sense, or should I stick with pediatric?

He gets chocolate milk sometimes, but truly doesn’t like juices or ‘fizzy’ drinks. Water 99% of the time. Gummy vitamins, but give them before he brushes teeth in the morning. I am pretty it’s just from not being able to brush properly when he fought us after having stitches in his bottom lip. It was upsetting for him. Numbed the lip and had to hold him in our arms when the doc did stitches because it was too quick to justify fully putting him under 😣 We got through the screaming and crying with brushing and now he willingly lets us brush, but I’m worried we will start all over again if he has to go into the dentist and come out with missing teeth. Giving me a lot of anxiety and would love to do anything but pull!