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"Soft" Teeth
Cavities Waiting to Happen By Felicia Hodges
Treatment OptionsSo what if your children fall into that small percentage who will almost certainly get a mouthful of cavities despite your best efforts?
"I personally believe in fluoride supplements and prescribe them to patients whose water is not supplemented with it," Dr. Lacedo says. He says his own three children the youngest of whom is 7 months old take fluoride drops daily.
McGrath says that her dental hygienist also recommended systemic fluoride treatments (those taken internally) like the daily drops to help prevent more cavities from forming. "There are also fluoride rinses, but they don't seem to be as effective and they don't do much to help protect the adult teeth growing beneath the gums," she says.
Of course, avoiding sugars and brushing immediately after eating anything sweet also help. "Basically, in addition to the brushing, rinsing and flossing, we have to be a bit more vigilant with them," McGrath says of Michael and Kasey. But, after so many trips to the dentist, the children are becoming more pro-active about their dental health.
"Kasey didn't even want her Easter candy this year," McGrath adds. "She walked around telling everyone, 'My dentist says not to eat sugar.'"
For Kasey's cavities, which are deeper in the molars than her brother's, McGrath says her dentist used medicine fillings as a way to help the decaying teeth live as long as possible. Still, the major concern is that the teeth may not survive long enough to hold the space for the adult teeth that will eventually erupt. And since the family's dental plan only covers preventive dentistry (initial cleaning and X-rays), the cost of filling the cavities is adding up close to $600 for Michael's while Kasey's medicated fillings are expected to cost a bit more, even though she has fewer cavities. Because of that, the fillings are being completed one child at a time, although the visits are regularly scheduled.