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| | Archive By Date: Kids & Teens |
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Answered questions from the past 2 years:
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January 2, 2009
My daughter is 3 years and 5 months. She has a few small cavities in her upper and lower front teeth. The dentist does not want to fill them, because they say too many of these fillings just fall out again and they will have to refill them. My thought is just to fill them and see what happens. They have mentioned crowns if the decay gets worse. We are doing everything possible to prevent further decay, but it looks to me like the cavity they are most concerned with (they say it is nearing a nerve) has gotten slightly bigger in the past month since her last treatment. Will fillings in the front baby teeth just fall out? Is filling them not the best option? |
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December 17, 2008
My 13-month-old daughter got her one-year molars. Recently, I looked in her mouth and she has two teeth coming in on the roof of her mouth, in about the same positions as the molars. What should I do? |
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October 10, 2008
My daughter's baby teeth have not fallen out, but the permanent teeth are growing in behind them. Should we have the baby teeth removed? |
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October 3, 2008
My son is 7 years old. He has crowns on his lower molars. He kept needing medication for infections in them. At the last visit, the dentist told me she will have to remove the molars because there is nothing more she can do. My concern is, how will he eat? Is there anything we can do until his permanent molars come in? |
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September 17, 2008
Is there any need to close the gap between the two upper front teeth in my one- year-old child? |
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August 25, 2008
I was told my 5-year-old child needs his four front upper teeth extracted. Is it safe for a young child to have so many teeth taken out? He has tooth decay. His two bottom teeth already fell out, but his top teeth are still strong. |
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August 20, 2008
My 5-year-old son's two upper front teeth fell out about a month ago. At an X-ray done a week before that, his permanent teeth were shown to be right above the loose baby teeth, and they looked healthy. But the teeth have not come in. How long does it usually take for a permanent tooth to start showing once the baby tooth falls out? |
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August 13, 2008
How safe is it to put a 3-year-old child under general anesthesia to fill cavities in baby teeth? The baby teeth are going to fall out anyway. These are just surface cavities. Is there anything else we can do? |
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August 4, 2008
I just noticed that my son's two lower front teeth are loose. He is 4 years 10 months old. Is this normal? I heard that the normal age to start losing baby teeth was 6. |
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August 4, 2008
I just noticed my 6-year-old son has white ridges and pits or discolorations on his lower back left molar and the upper farthest back left and right molar. His dental visit 6 months ago was normal. Is this early decay? I believe the lower molar must have just erupted, because when I brushed his teeth I didn't notice this last month. I never looked at the back upper teeth until now. |
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July 7, 2008
My daughter has two back teeth so close together that it's impossible to get floss between them. What should I do? |
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June 30, 2008
I am 28 years old and I have a wisdom tooth coming through the gum on the lower left side of my mouth. The tooth is causing pain. I had my upper wisdom teeth taken out in the past, but my dentist said I had room on the bottom. If I have this tooth taken out at age 28, will it cause more pain and trouble than leaving it in? How serious are the complications I can have at my age? |
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June 25, 2008
Should you buy a new toothbrush every month? |
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June 13, 2008
My 12-year-old daughter went in for a filling and she was given gas. After the local anesthesia, she got very fidgety and started to twitch her head and shoulder. Is this a normal reaction? It was very scary. |
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June 6, 2008
My daughter broke one of her baby teeth. The doctor said she needs to see a dentist, even though it's going to fall out anyway. She is 4 years old. |
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May 14, 2008
My five-year-old daughter recently began to lose her front teeth. At the same time, her six-year molars have started to come in. Over the weekend, one of the molars broke through the gum. Now, there is a mass of skin in the back of her mouth. What is this and will it go away? |
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May 9, 2008
My 7-year-old son had a cavity 6 months ago that was so small that they didn't have to numb him to fill it. He just had a cleaning and that tooth is abscessed. It is the # L tooth. The dentist wants to pull it out and put in a spacer. I was not given the option of a root canal, but will take him for another opinion. Is it best to pull it out or get a root canal? Which is more painful? |
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May 2, 2008
I have a two-year-old boy who has been treated for dental caries three times in the past year. He recently had crowns put on his front teeth. I noticed white spots along his gum lines today, which is the same way the other cavities started. We brush teeth twice a day, have cut out snack times, and allow only water to drink between meals. What other things can be done to prevent decay? |
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April 30, 2008
My 11 year old has a problem with primary molars breaking or cracking before they are ready to fall out. We go to the dentist fairly frequently for this. Is this due to dental decay, or something else? Only one of the three molars that cracked had a cavity in it. Neither my husband nor I had this problem as kids. |
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April 14, 2008
My one-year-old son just got his upper front teeth. They seem to be eroded. There is no shine to them. There are brown spots on them. He had reflux as a baby and was on special milk. Would this have affected him? Will all his teeth be like this? He only drinks water and milk. |
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April 3, 2008
I've always brushed my teeth. But after I had both my children, my teeth have gotten very bad. I've already had four teeth pulled since then, and I need three more pulled. Why is this happening? |
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March 28, 2008
We have just returned from a check-up for our 9-year-old daughter. She had an x-ray of the two teeth that are on either side of her top middle ones. The dentist was concerned about how small they are. She is now very anxious and is wondering what he is looking for and what can be done if there is something wrong with them. Can you please advise? |
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March 26, 2008
At my son's fist visit to the dentist, I was informed (after X-rays were taken) that his top two baby teeth had no roots. He is only 4 years old. The dentist said some kind of trauma must have happened to cause this. His recommendation is to pull the teeth and to fit my son with an appliance with artificial teeth. Is there really a reason to pull the teeth? The dentist said there is a risk of infection if we don't. Why is this? |
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March 19, 2008
I am 14 years old. I went to the dentist recently and they said I won't get all of my teeth. They said it was inherited. I don't understand why I won't get all of my teeth. |
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March 13, 2008
My 14-year-old son has not lost his canine primary teeth. He otherwise has a perfect set of teeth. They are talking about pulling those teeth and using braces to pull the permanent teeth down, providing they are there. Should I wait until they fall out? |
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March 12, 2008
My 5-year-old son has a white gum boil that keeps coming up above a loose tooth. He visits the dentist every 6 months and cleans his teeth twice a day, so I am concerned about what it is and how to treat it. |
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March 5, 2008
My 10-year-old child brushes his teeth regularly and he doesn't eat a bunch of candy, yet it seems that at his six month check-up, he will have developed new cavities. What do you think could be our problem? |
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February 18, 2008
My 6-year-old son lost his two front teeth when he was 3 in a bike accident. The dentist said implants would be too painful for a young child and that because they were baby teeth it was not a big deal. I am concerned that my son's permanent teeth will not erupt where they should. Should I consult an oral surgeon? Can anything be done for him if the teeth do erupt in the wrong place? |
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February 11, 2008
My 10-year-old son has a permanent tooth erupting, but the baby tooth is still there. The permanent tooth is coming out the side of his gum around his baby tooth. Does he need to have the baby tooth pulled? |
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February 7, 2008
A friend has severe damage to her teeth and will need dentures. Her dentist called this damage 'Mountain Dew mouth' because of all the soda she drinks. Is soda really this harmful to teeth? |
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January 25, 2008
Can you be too young to get braces? My son is 8 years old. Should I wait, and if so, how long? |
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January 11, 2008
My 6-year-old son lost his upper incisor at the age of 3.5 years. This tooth was dark in color when he lost it. The permanent tooth hasn't come in yet. My dentist said it might not come in until he is 7 or 8. Is this a matter of concern? |
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January 2, 2008
I was told that I should get sealants on my child's teeth. What are they? Are they really necessary? |
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