General Anesthetic for 6yr old dental work, advice please?

Savvy_Sue

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Mostly they drink very dilute squash normally ribena.

don't know what its actual nutritional content is, but to me Ribena always tastes VERY sweet. If you can wean them onto water, their teeth will thank you for it in the long run!

karen24_2

I know you have already had several replies but I wanted to share my experiences. My little boy, now aged six needed an extraction aged four and the dentist automatically referred him to the hospital for a GA extraction, and put the reason down as nervousness/age of patient. At the time I explained that I thought he'd cope with a needle in the gum but was discouraged as it could put him off going to the dentist.

The hospital experience wasn't bad, he was only under for a few minutes so the recovery was quick. The only downside was that while he got the appointment through, he had to suffer two painful abcesses.

Last year he developed an abcess in another tooth due to decay, and this time the dentist agreed to let me take him in later in the week to have it removed under a local aneasthetic. I will point out that I explained to my son what was going to happen and he agreed he wanted the painful tooth removed and he wasn't scared of the needle. I also think it helps that I'm very relaxed at the dentist as children often pick up on nervous parents.

Again this procedure went really well, the dentist was surprised that he didnt cry at all at any time. On reflection I think the correct decision was made each time as he has no fear of the dentist as he associates going with getting a sticker and him taking away pain.
Of course every child is different, so you can only make an informed decision by discussing it with the dentist or other medical professionals.

I'd also like to add that insinuating that a parent is not doing well by their children because they have tooth decay is not helpful as we already feel guilty for our children suffering pain. My dentist also pointed out to me that my son had little enamel on his teeth as antibiotics prescribed as a baby had damaged them while they were erupting so this certainly hasn't helped. If the doctor prescribing, the dispensing chemist or the information leaflet had pointed out this problem could have occurred I would have been more vigilant in brushing straight after dispensing his medicine.

brook2jack

I'm sorry but antibiotics prescribed as a baby will not have affected his developing teeth unless they were tetracycline and there are very few reasons to give that to a child and warnings would be given and are clearly written on leaflet which is why it's not been given to babies for decades.

The enamel on the baby teeth is already formed by the time the child is born so antibiotics as a baby will not affect these as they are complete already.

What can happen though is that a serious illness in the first few months can disrupt enamel formation on the first adult teeth to finish developing and these teeth can come through with a White or brown line.

The other problem with many childrens meds are they are very heavily sweetened. Short term not a problem but longterm use is.

LittleMissAspie

It's not just sugar that is bad for teeth, starch is too. As soon as you eat starch your saliva starts breaking it down into sugars so any bits that remain on the teeth (cereal is a prime example) will slowly be turning to sugar. If he needs snacks in between meals then something low carb would be better like cheese or meat.

Gingham_Ribbon

brook2jack wrote: »

I'm sorry but antibiotics prescribed as a baby will not have affected his developing teeth unless they were tetracycline and there are very few reasons to give that to a child and warnings would be given and are clearly written on leaflet which is why it's not been given to babies for decades.

The enamel on the baby teeth is already formed by the time the child is born so antibiotics as a baby will not affect these as they are complete already.

What can happen though is that a serious illness in the first few months can disrupt enamel formation on the first adult teeth to finish developing and these teeth can come through with a White or brown line.

The other problem with many childrens meds are they are very heavily sweetened. Short term not a problem but longterm use is.

Your first and last paragraphs somewhat conflict. If the child has had longterm antibiotics as a baby, then presumably the sugar could have damaged the enamel?

My eldest has weakened baby enamel due to drugs in pregnancy and the youngest, though he has had no problems so far, does have some enamel damage for the same reason.

I'm almost 40 and have never had a filling and I take pride in making sure my kids' teeth are well looked after, yet my eldest has 3 fillings.

karen24_2

brook2jack wrote: »

I'm sorry but antibiotics prescribed as a baby will not have affected his developing teeth unless they were tetracycline and there are very few reasons to give that to a child and warnings would be given and are clearly written on leaflet which is why it's not been given to babies for decades.

The enamel on the baby teeth is already formed by the time the child is born so antibiotics as a baby will not affect these as they are complete already.

What can happen though is that a serious illness in the first few months can disrupt enamel formation on the first adult teeth to finish developing and these teeth can come through with a White or brown line.

The other problem with many childrens meds are they are very heavily sweetened. Short term not a problem but longterm use is.

I've just been having a look online and realised my error, his teeth were damaged as they erupted not forming. All his back teeth have the dentin showing, but luckily as I'm now taking extra special care of them he has no further cavities. He was taking amoxicillin and other antibiotics for several months as he was a very sickly baby, although I admit I breast fed him in the night at the same time to comfort him as he was always ill. I expect this caused some damage too.

I wish I'd not looked online now as there is some talk that his permanent teeth may show signs of damage too due to excessive use of amoxicillin, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Anyway to the OP, I hope the hospital visit goes well. You'll probably find he's not phased by it at all in the end.

Nicki

karen24 wrote: »

I'd also like to add that insinuating that a parent is not doing well by their children because they have tooth decay is not helpful as we already feel guilty for our children suffering pain. My dentist also pointed out to me that my son had little enamel on his teeth as antibiotics prescribed as a baby had damaged them while they were erupting so this certainly hasn't helped. If the doctor prescribing, the dispensing chemist or the information leaflet had pointed out this problem could have occurred I would have been more vigilant in brushing straight after dispensing his medicine.

All the posts I have read on this thread have tried to be helpful and supportive to the OP. Some of us though, me included, have suggested she look to see if there are ways she can stop her kids getting back in this situation, and as a result I think she's had some fantastic advice from a couple of dentists, about what could be causing the problems. OP herself as a result of those posts seems to have identified things she could do differently which might help in the future. I personally can't see how that has been in any way "not helpful". I know if my kids had a predisposition to anything nasty, be it tooth decay or something else, and some professionals gave me advice as to how I could lessen that risk and save them pain and suffering, I'd be thrilled not offended!

karen24_2

Nicki wrote: »

All the posts I have read on this thread have tried to be helpful and supportive to the OP. Some of us though, me included, have suggested she look to see if there are ways she can stop her kids getting back in this situation, and as a result I think she's had some fantastic advice from a couple of dentists, about what could be causing the problems. OP herself as a result of those posts seems to have identified things she could do differently which might help in the future. I personally can't see how that has been in any way "not helpful". I know if my kids had a predisposition to anything nasty, be it tooth decay or something else, and some professionals gave me advice as to how I could lessen that risk and save them pain and suffering, I'd be thrilled not offended!

Ok I take your point on board, I've re read the posts and realise I may have over reacted slightly, probably due to the criticism I've received personally and the fact it was way past my bed time when I posted. Hope you'll forgive me

Nicki

karen24 wrote: »

Ok I take your point on board, I've re read the posts and realise I may have over reacted slightly, probably due to the criticism I've received personally and the fact it was way past my bed time when I posted. Hope you'll forgive me

Show me a parent who hasn't been roundly criticised for something though, and I'll bet my bottom dollar that it's a parent who has never taken their child to a HV, doctor or dentist! Tis hard not to take it personally at the time though.