Cavities!

Madeline had her bi-annual teeth cleaning today with the pediatric dentist. She was due for x-rays today. She did very well for the entire appointment...only problem was we learned she has 3 cavities! Ugh! Some of you might remember me blogging back in January about her first cavity on a baby molar that needed to be crowned (a.k.a. her shiny tooth). Well since then we've worked hard at consistently brushing her teeth twice a day, and flossing several times a week with her Reach floss er. Well x-rays showed 3 more cavities in between her baby molars.

We did learn at her appointment that she got her 6 year old (because they erupt around this age) adult molars, all 4 of them! Madeline definitely looks like she will get bigger sized adult teeth. Anyhow these adult molars have made things a bit tight in her mouth so all her baby molars are very tight together, making brushing and flossing even more important since food and sugar can easily get trapped in between. Which is what obviously has occurred.

I'm bummed about her cavities. I'm 32 years old and have never once had a cavity. The kids pretty much eat what Stephen and I do. Mainly drink milk and water, with juice maybe once a day. And if they ever do have sips of our soda, we only keep diet in our house. I did give her fruit snacks or fruit roll ups in her sack school lunches - I'm guessing those probably didn't help. I'm wondering though if her 6 years of thumb sucking has made her susceptible to cavities? Since the germs on her thumb can transfer bacteria into her mouth...

For those of you whom are a little skeptical at treating baby teeth for cavities I came across this insert:

Question: Does it really matter if baby teeth have cavities?

Answer: "Cavities are the result of a bacterial infection. The infection leads to demineralization of teeth. The demineralization can result in cavities because the enamel is unsupported and collapses. The infection spreads and can cause severe pain and suffering in children. Healthy baby teeth support infant and toddler eating, speech development and establish a healthy environment for permanent teeth that erupt later in life. Healthy baby teeth are also the best space maintainers for permanent teeth."

So I picked up more flossers from the Dollar Tree store, I'm keeping these on our coffee table so I remember to floss their teeth every night. Luckily James molars are widely spaced so food doesn't seem to get stuck in between. I also had Stephen check with work today to make sure our dental insurance plan will be changing over on July 1st to one with more coverage - we had to pay out of pocket for her first crown...we can't afford to pay out of pocket in full for these next 3 cavities!

Madeline asked why it's important to go to the dentist, I told her it's to ensure we take proper care of our teeth so when we get older we will have healthy teeth for nice smiles! Doesn't my cowboy James have a beautiful smile?