has any one's toddler had dental work?

[nada87]

My 2.5 yo went to the dentist today, she has one cavity that is pretty extensive, the regular dentist referred us to a pediatric specialist for further treatment. The dentist she saw today thinks it is possible to fill the tooth and it be fine but if it turns out to be any worse then she thinks it is we are looking at capping the tooth or pulling it. DH took her so all this is what he told me.
I was just wondering if any one had experience with this and could offer advice on what to expect with how to deal with the procedure and any pain after.

[Janine]

My daughter got a filling shortly after she turned 4. If I had it all to do over again, I would have had her sedated. Even with laughing gas, she was hysterical the whole time. We had to come back 3 times for a tiny filling because she was so hysterical that they couldn't get it filled and we wouldn't consent to strapping her down. Hopefully it is easier for other people, but for her, it was pretty bad. She is always such a well-bahaved, smart, rational child. We did not expect her to react so badly.

[TheCoach'sWife]

My son had EXTENSIVE dental work. Due to some issues with his bio mom, he got the bad end of the stick when it came to teeth. He had 5 caps when he was 5 and had to be put to sleep. The pain after wasn't bad at all, but no way could we have gotten thru it without anesthesia.

[jackyl08]

My 3yr old had major work done. 6 crowns, 3 root canals, 8 fillings and 2 extractions. Pain after was minimal. We did general anesthesia, but there really wasn't any other good way to do it.

[DalesWidda]

My dd had one bad cavity when she had just turned three. The dentist told me the same thing. He would try to clean it out best he could and if he could fill it great, otherwise he would cap it. She had no gas at all, just novicaine. She took it like a champ but I imagine that's pretty rare. I imagine most kids need gas. I think for one cavity you probably don't need a hospital stay and full anesthesia but that's just my opinion. i don't know your child.

[Janine]

The issue with the gas for us was that you have to breathe through your nose for it to work. If you start breathing through your mouth, the effect wears off quickly. And, of course, a lot of us start breathing through our mouth when we are crying or get scared. Our daughter would be doing great, and then something (like the sound of the drill) would scare her a little and she would start breathing through her mouth. And then the gas would start to wear off and she would get even more panicky. Downward spiral. Then it would take another 4-5 minutes to get her calmed down and breathing through her nose long enough for the gas to kick back in. Then cue the drill and it would start all over again. She had novacaine, but she needed the gas to stay calm and we just couldn't keep her on it.

[nada87]

I feel like a horrible parent! She is the best of all three about brushing teeth but I guess she got the short end of the stick genetically when it comes to teeth.
It was actually really cute when I came home last night. I asked her about the dentist and she says "yeah it was scary because the dentist said i have sugar bugs! I don't like sugar bugs!"
DH said she did really good with the entire thing including the xrays so i guess we will see what the pediatric dentist thinks in terms of anesthesia. That's the part that scares me most! I hate the idea of her having to be sedated!

[DalesWidda]

Originally Posted by nada87 I feel like a horrible parent! She is the best of all three about brushing teeth but I guess she got the short end of the stick genetically when it comes to teeth. It was actually really cute when I came home last night. I asked her about the dentist and she says "yeah it was scary because the dentist said i have sugar bugs! I don't like sugar bugs!" DH said she did really good with the entire thing including the xrays so i guess we will see what the pediatric dentist thinks in terms of anesthesia. That's the part that scares me most! I hate the idea of her having to be sedated!

Could you try with just novacaine? My dd did really well. I think she would have been more scared being put under.

[l_Kimmie_l]

My son had lots of work done at 2. He had 4 teeth pulled under gas with minimal discomfort after. I gave him motrin and that was it. Then he had a crown and cavities filled a couple months later under general anastesia. He did not like his mouth being numb, but handled the procedures just fine.