High Maintenance Mom

S took B and N to the dentist in July. B has one really deep cavity that will require a baby root canal and one cavity that needs to be filled. N has pre-cavities that require special toothpaste. We felt we had neglected our child even though I spend countless hours making sure they eat healthy whole grain food that is low in sugar. In addition to feeling like awful parents, we were also angry with our dentist. B was in for a checkup before starting kindergarten and again to try to remove his two front teeth (see Having baby teeth pulled by the dentist. Apparently the dentist didn't x-ray during the first appointment and only x-rayed the front teeth on the second...

The first thing I did was run to Target and buy every type of children's dental rinse I could find. I tried the ACT Kids Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash, Bubble Gum Blow Out, the Listerine Smart Rinse, Berry Sheild, and the Scooby Doo stain your teeth rinse. I ended up throwing out the staining one because it just seemed too gross but the kids now happily use the other two. The Listerine Smart Rinse supposedly attaches to bits of plaque forming pink blobs. We like to see how many blobs we can get out.

It took us about a month to realize we didn't want that dentist filling his teeth, especially since he wasn't covered by our dental insurance and wanted us to bring $420 as a down payment. I called our primary care physician for another referral and then decided to look online to figure out who would be covered by our dental plan. We found another pediatric dentist within 15 miles of our house. She was recommended on another site we trusted and received her degree from Columbia. Knowing that both kids will require a lot of dental help made us change our requirements for a dentist.

The new dentist took me aside and explained the issues. B's teeth are close together and he needs our help to brush and floss. He can brush by himself in the morning but we need to brush and floss for him in the evening, until he's 8 or 9 years old. Once I started flossing for him I was able to get more food out. We are staying away from sticky foods like raisins, we're using the special prescription fluoride toothpaste twice a day, we're flossing (Butler Gum Crayola Dental Flossers For Kids) at least once a day, and we're using a fluoride rinse at least once a day. I have three appointments set up for the kids for the next month and I'm hoping we can help the kids get on the right track before they have problems with their permanent teeth.

While flossing B's teeth this evening I noticed he has three new molars coming in. After looking online, I found out the new molars are his first permanent ones. Scroll down to the pictures of the baby and permanent teeth to see the ages when they appear.