Cavities, and bad dental health in child.?

My daughter is 7 years old and has terrible teeth. She has had 4 of her top front teeth capped, due to decay when she was about 3 years old, I have had 3 cavities filled and now 2 more cavities have been found and she has a abscese and dead nerve on a molar that needs to be pulled and replaced with a spacer. Do other parents have these same issues with their childrens teeth? When I talked to the dentist about it, she made it sound like it is normal, I don't believe this. My daughter brushes her teeth every day, she is only allowed pop when we go out ( I don't keep pop in the house) she does not eat a insane amount of sugar and we go to the dentist every 6 months. I have only had 2 cavities my entire life, both after I had kids. Why are her teeth so bad and will her permant teeth follow the same path?

I understand you say that you guys keep up on the brushing and that she doesnt' have too much sugar.

But no, this is not normal. the good news is that A) it is not unUSUAL B) it is fixable (you guys seem to have access to care, which some kids don't!) and C) it doesn't have to continue....

First , where did it come from? Well, at some point, it's pretty safe to say, she had too much sugar. Perhaps in the form of apple or another juice? check out the back of the label on teh juice bottle - it's almost as much sugar as coke! Any carbohydrate will do it, potentially! Even a child that falls asleep while nursing at mother's breast can develop early childhood caries (aka, "cavities" decay etc).

My suspicion is that at some point (2, 3, 4 yrs old?) there was too much sugar, not enough flossing (yeah, kids need floss! crazy...) and the damage was done...what you've been doing is cleaning up a HISTORICAL problem. This is like if someone smoked for 20 years and then quit and 10 years later gets cancer. This is not meant to be judgemental; it's just a theory.

OK, so moving forward. Make sure she brushes twice a day. Make sure that if there isn't enough fluoride in your water supply, your daughter is getting supplemental (pills or drops) - your dentist can help you w/ this. Make sure that she FLOSSES!!!! Floss floss floss. A tooth is only as strong as the dirtiest part, and if youleave any area uncleaned (included where the teeth touch) thsi is where the decay will come from! Brushing DOESN'T MATTER if you dont' floss. Lastly, try using a daily flouride RINSE, like ACT. I would suggest:
1. floss (at night before bed)
2. brush, then...
3. rinse w/ ACT.

Obviously, minimize soda, but even juices as well.

Some people just have a prediliction for decay. I had all my back teeth filled TWICE by the time I was 22. (but I KNOW this is because I rarely flossed as a teen and I drank too much Mountain Dew, etc etc...)

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me!

poor kid. i just went to the dentist today and im still in pain 7 hours later.

Something is going on that you may not know about.

Contrary to what people think, people dont have "soft" teeth.

Something is causing that decay, and there can only be two things....sugar and plaque.

Brushing is not the answer. Brushing and flossing CORRECTLY is the answer.

Sugar is not only in soda and candy. Amost everything nowadays has sugar. I bought a loaf of 12 grain bread from Aldi the other day. Guess what was in it? High fructose corn syrup!! Never shopping at Aldi again. Anyways, get my drift? Rasins, grapes, fruit snacks, cereals, bananas....all loaded with sugar.


AND YES unless she starts brushing AND flossing properly, especially after meals then YES this will continue on to her permanent teeth.

sounds like she needs some fluoride treatment to strengthen the enamel. does he dentist do fluoride treatment every six months as well? even if insurance only covers it once a year, pay out of pocket if you can afford it. this problem doesn't sound normal to me.
also be sure she is flossing properly and possibly supervise her brushing to make sure she is doing it the right way and long enough.

Well, as long as you get them taken care of, her permanent teeth shouldn't follow in the same path, except for maybe the one that has the dead nerve.

If she's not eating too much sugar, or anything like that, possibly check the rest of her diet. Is she drinking enough milk? Taking in enough calcium? Is her body lacking in important vitamins? Maybe it's a vitamin deficency.....I would have a doctor check into it. If that's the case, then yes, it may be normal until it's back on track. Other than that, I don't know what else to tell you. It sounds like you are doing everything you should be with her.

why dont you brush and floss for her once a day