I had to take my kid to the dentist and i know its been a long time since i was a kid, but when i was his age i thought they would just pull em. Now the dentist said that my son had 3 small cavities, and 2 (baby root canals) on his baby teeth. I dont know what the heck that means or how the heck he got em concidering he gets his teeth brushed everyday. I asked the dentist to just pull the ones with the root canals, and fix the others, but he said that pulling is a bad idea. I saw the bill and it was quite high. And the insurance only covers 60% on root canals (how conveinient). I asked him how much it would cost me if they were pulled and he wouldnt tellme, but just repeated how bad it would be for the big teeth. I feel they just want to charge money for no reason other then to lace their pockets with money. Anybody else have info or feel the same way.
while baby teeth do fall out and are replced... its all in the timing.... and oral health pulling teeth too early can affect the amount of space that the replacement teeth have to grow in to.... which could lead to the greater expence of plates and braces.... also if the teeth that need pulling are the molars (the back teeth) it could affect your sons ability to chew his food properly, and lead to muscle strain of the jaw... also the bacteria involved in causing cavities can affect the underlaying teeth, bone structure, gum health and studies are also showing a link between poor oral health and heart disease..... as for how he got them.... have a good look at his diet,...... there is a school of belife that a diet high in sugars and highly processed / refined foods affect oral health from the inside out (much like your skin) as you havent said how old your son is..... i am going to ask a couple of questions... does he drink lots of fruit juice, soda, sugary drinks? does he still drink from a bottle?? if so does he go to bed with a bottle (after brushing his teeth?) also get your dentist to watch your brushing technique.... there may be ways to improve this to ensure your child has a better clean.... good luck
It has something to do with overcrowding. I read it somwhere if the baby teeth are pulled before the time they would actually fall out then the permanent teeth grow in too early and cause overcrowding. ? Oh, so root canals are more expenisve, and more money out of pocket for you. It's less for the dentist to pull them, but he's telling you no? I don't know about that. It could be what you say. Or pulling the teeth may cost you more $$$ down the line to straighten out the permamnet teeth. Maybe they simply don't need to be pulled, and the dentist wasn't thinking in dollars. I've heard that kids drinking more bottled water is leading to more cavities. They are not getting the flouride they need from tap water. Get a second opinion. I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask another dentist how he feels.
As professionals, dentists take an oath to care for and protect their patients. This means they can not perform procedures that are not in the best interest of the patient even if the parent asks them to. Believe me, patients and parents of patients ask dentists to do bizarre things all the time that are definitely not in their best interest. It is not necessarily the patient's fault. They simply don't understand what they are requesting. It is the dentist's responsibility to do what is best for his patient even when it makes the patient (or his parent) angry.
I've experienced the same situation. My daughter was 10 and we went for her six month checkup. The dentist came out and said she had two cavities and pressured me into making an appointment to get them filled. I declined and drove home wondering what that is all about, since these teeth are going to fall out very soon anyway. I felt like I was being conned. Well I never did get them filled and her baby teeth fell out and that's that. You didn't mention how old your kid is. I would suspect if the tooth is severely decayed and not ready to come out for quite a long time then yes it might be a good idea to patch it up.
