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DS9 went to the dentist this morning and he has FOUR cavities...one that just needs sealed and three that need filled. Of those three one is at a One Surface filling, one is at a Two Surface filling, and the third is at a Three Surface filling. They are all baby teeth, but will not fall out for another three to four years. Our options are to fill all of them or extract the bad ones and put in spacers. Anyone have any experience on this? The guy has my teeth, unfortunately and I'm afraid of what his future holds

Sigh. Been there done that and have the dental bill. Ds's baby teeth were pitted, and he got cavities very easily.

However, my son got his teeth early (first at 3 months) and looses them early. So I went the route of dental surgery, he got crowns and .... he lost them within the year (by 8 years old ).

He's 9 now and has all of his adult teeth. Yep, all of them.

Which teeth are the two worst ones?

ETA) and if it makes you feel a bit better he has NO problems with his adult teeth. So this may not plague him forever.

[This message edited by metamorphisis at 8:39 AM, April 4th (Thursday)]

They're all molars. The one that he needs the Two Surface on is tooth 'I' and the Three Surface is tooth 'K'. I am thinking of doing a combo of things...sealing the tooth that needs sealed and then filling the one that is only a One Surface, and extracting/spacing the other two.

I really hope he does outgrow this, when his adult teeth come in. I, personally, have had this problem since I was a kid and my mouth needs approx $1200 (after insurance) of work done I'm really thinking extraction and spacers may be the way to go, since the cost is going to be about the same, anyway. I would just hate to see him have the Two and Three Surface ones filled and end up needing a root canal. I've had HORRIBLE luck with root canals...I've had three and all three failed, so I ended up with extractions anyway.

[This message edited by Mama_of_3_Kids at 8:47 AM, April 4th (Thursday)]

Can you consult another dentist?

I mention this as I took my older one to a dentist while we were on vacation, and he said she needed all sorts of work...spacers, etc. He also incorrectly filled a cavity, which ultimately resulted in a root canal for her...

When we got back home, I took her to her regular dentist...

I asked him about the other guy's reccommendations, and his response was....you could do all that, but they're going to fall out by the end of winter....and they did....

Like you said, I prefer the extraction route. Dental surgery for the root canals and crowns was not pleasant. He didn't come out of the anesthetic well at all and it was scary . And then in the end after all of the fear and cost and painful procedures they fell out within the year .

The first specialist we went to used a "Hug Blanket" for the procedures. Which was as bad as it sounds. They wrap the child in a blanket that straps in the back and just used freezing. Ds was already terrified. If I did that to him he would have never trusted me again

So we went a few hours away and he was put completely under.

In the end I wish I had gone with extractions and spacers but I wasn't given the option. They really should have been able to see how close his adult teeth were to the surface and I feel like I was lied to.

If he were older, I would just wait until they fall out but he is barely 9, so I know they have at least a few years. Although I would usually consider a second opinion, our dentist is the best in town (hence the reason we go to them). They're a little more pricey for that reason, but I trust him with our teeth over anyone else (we've been to a couple of other dentists in the area).

ETA: I don't know if our dentist will refer us elsewhere or not. He does orthodontics too, so he may just do it in his office.

[This message edited by Mama_of_3_Kids at 9:38 AM, April 4th (Thursday)]

My DD had to have an extraction and a spacer. I think she was 3-4 then. It was really no big deal. She is now a teenager and her has not had a cavity in her adult teeth.

I would probably go with the extraction route as I had a horrible time with spacers when I was little.. I'm sure dentistry has changed since then but the spacers were a royal PITA... they kept falling out . When I grew up I never got my wisdom teeth (they're up there, they just never grew out of my jaw) & a dentist once said it was due to the spacers & the pressure they put on my molars.. I'm not sure I really believe that!

good luck

Thank you everyone! Do3K and I discussed it and we really both feel that the extraction/spacer route is what we should do. It's what I am at peace with and I think it's what our pocketbook can handle the best at our point (considering the risk of having to do a filling and having it fail).

We requested the office give us an estimate for the extractions/spacers. The TOTAL (both teeth combined) was $122 for our portion When compared with what it would cost to do the two fillings, it was going to be well over $200 EACH So, yeah, we're going with the extraction/spacer route. We will now end up paying closer to $490 instead of over $800 (for everything). I am MUCH happier with this option

[This message edited by Mama_of_3_Kids at 9:43 PM, April 4th (Thursday)]

$200 *each* for fillings? What the are they putting in there, platinum mixed with angel tears?

They were also going to be doing pulp therapy with the fillings (in other words they were almost to the point of needing a baby root canal ). The pulp therapy itself is like $115 for each tooth