Emer had two fillings today

[ailbhe]

She is going back at least twice more for more fillings. And then I will take her back to her usual dentist to get a second opinion on the quality of the work, because, um, that's what I do, me.

They aren't nice white fillings like I have on my front tooth, but nasty grey ones.

I didn't cry in the dental clinic. Not even when the dentist said it must be something she was eating.

I can find records of four dental appointments other than today's in the past 12 months. But I know there's one more I haven't written down; I shall phone that dentist tomorrow and find out when it was. I know I've been paying attention to this. I know I haven't fed her sugared lemonade or cola or even blimmin RAISINS... But I need more evidence that it's not my fault, because I don't believe it now.

Comments

[serene]

Some people just have bad teeth. My mother raised all four of us on the same stuff -- same food, same water, same dental hygiene, etc. Two of us got my father's strong teeth (I didn't have a cavity until I was 16); two of us had teeth that started having trouble as soon as they came in.

[aquaeri]

Yes, this is what I was going to say. There is honest-to-spagmonster variation between people!

[br3nda]

nasty gray ones are good -- they last longer.

maybe she's a teeth grinder (i do that in my sleep). Dentists usually can tell by how strong the jaw muscles are.

[clare-s.livejournal.com]

Just a couple of things. My sister was told that it is not the quantity of sugar in the diet but the frequency so snacks were not great for teeth. There is also a possibility that the enamel of the teeth just isn't great and there is a weakness there.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

The latter part was my thought too - so many kids eat snacks these days, and if it was just about snacks, we'd see lots more small kids with this problem. I agree that it's likely that Emer might just not have strong enamel. Not your fault at all. Hugs!

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

There is very little that a person does or does not that has to do with cavities. The two biggest factors are 1. genetics, 2. fluoridation of the water supply (either naturally or artificially).

Brushing, flossing, and what you eat? Basically, those are AFTER those big two.

[cassandre.livejournal.com]

From the mother of another cavity-ridden child: not your fault. Hell, what do they want you to do, feed her intravenously? People make ignorant comments out of ignorance.

These ARE only her baby teeth, after all.

[bafleyanne.livejournal.com]

I suspect it's more to do with enamel weakness than anything else. It is NOT your fault.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Some people have a genetic condition that makes it very difficult to absorb calcium. As a result, they generally have really vulnerable teeth, and break bones easily. It's quite rare, but if she breaks a finger or toe under a really not that hard force, it might be an indicator.

I suspect the dentist sees 20 children a day who are fed coca-cola all day and orange squash as they go to sleep, and has a standard track to trot out for every parent because otherwise they will cry at those 20 :/

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Ditto for me, except that my teeth only started to deteriorate really badly when I moved from a city that fluoridated the water to one that didn't.

The grey fillings are stronger stuff than the white ones - I destroy white ones in 3 months to 2 years, routinely. Better for her to have grey ones that probably won't need replacing before her baby teeth fall out.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

I thought we knew that Emer seems to have incredibly soft teeth with poor tooth enamel? That isn't your fault. It's genetic - which isn't a thing you had control over, possibly combined with illnesses you had while pregnant with her - which you didn't choose to have and tried to get rid of as quickly as possible.

Nasty grey fillings seem fine for baby teeth, which are going to be lost in any case. Hopefully her second set will be stronger.

[the0lady.livejournal.com]

Of course this is not your fault - you were telling me yourself that Emer has vulnerable teeth, but that her adult teeth are not affected! Silly dentist.

On a side note, I have a mouthful of ugly grey fillings - sometimes up to 3 in the same molar. Life-diminishing consequences? Zilch.

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

Holly has actually had a filling & it was put down to her teeth not forming properly on one of the two times she was in hospital as a baby & not very well.

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

No, totally not your fault.

I grew up in the 1950s and have had, over the years, more fillings than you could shake a stick at - but none at all in the past 20 years or so! So you see, just because she needs them now (and I bet she was an incredibly brave girl who deserves a huge reward) doesn't at all mean she'll need any when her second teeth come in.

[livi-short.livejournal.com]

When her adult teeth come in talk to a dentist about fissure sealing, i had it done at 12 and both the girls had it done as we all had deep fissures in our back teeth and this can cause issues with brushing not clearing the fissures and may lead to cavities. Since having the sealing i only had one filling up until this year when i needed a second filling and one sealing resealed.

Trisha has no fillings but even with the fissure sealings Sue has needed 3 fillings, all from cavities between the teeth that are crowded together and dificult to clean, sometimes it just happens.

[ailbhe]

Emer's antenatal illnesses were at term, 2 at about 8m, 4m -- all but the last one requiring antibiotics. How did I manage to forget those?