I'm finding this difficult to believe

We take the kids to the dentist every 6 months. Last time, 6 months ago, all was fine. This time we go and they say Amelia has 12 (yes, 12!) cavities and that Lily has 8.

Really?! How in the world could they have gotten that many in only 6 months? They brush their teeth and Amelia even does nightly mouthwash b/c she has had a cavity in the past. They said the cavities are in between their teeth.

The thought has crossed my mind that they are the only pediatric dentist covered by our insurance, and I wonder if they know they are the only dentist covered by this particular insurance and are doing excess dental work.

How in the world is it possible to develop that many cavities in 6 months? Also, they said they will not do the fillings in the hospital (our medical insurance is way better than our dental insurance) so the cost of both girls would be about $2,000 versus $200 for hospital co-pays.

We have got the worst luck lately.

 

I have never heard of fillings being done in a hospital. Sometimes people just have bad teeth and cavities don't have anything to do with brushing well, so don't beat yourself up about that. If you are unsure of what they are saying,get a second opinion. You also don't have to go to a pediatric dentist. My kids went to a regular dentist from the time they were 3 until they started 1st grade--the dentist was an hour away, and once they were in school full time it was too hard, and the dentist retired that year. We tried a pediatric dentist, because everyone loved him for about 2 years. I switched them back to the regular dentist--the same one that I go to after 2 years, because the pediatric dentist was sooooo costly. It would cost about $400 for one child--our regular dentist will cost about $350 for me and both of the boys!

Like I said, I would go for a second opinion before having that amount of work done!

 

If I go for a second opinion it's got to be with a regular dentist b/c he is the only pediatric dentist covered. I think I will do that because we don't want to come up with the $2,000 unless we have to. I do have an HSA with enough money in it to cover it, but I don't want to use that if I don't have to.

I'm going to try a regular family dentist and see what they say. I'll call the place where I go.

ETA - my mom is a nurse and she tells me regularly about the kids who come in for dental work - specifically cases like Amelia when they're saying basically all of her teeth need fillings or crowns. It's common.

 

Even if you had to pay for the second opinion, it's going to be considerably cheaper than getting all those cavities filled and continuing to see a dentist who is screwing you over. I find it really hard to believe that a kid could get that many cavities in 6 months.

 

I think it's actually pretty common for second opinions to reveal that a dentist was "exaggerating" the cavities.

 

Anthony has six cavities he needs filled. We got one so far, and they ended up capping it. I wasn't pleased, but I wasn't there. Most of his cavities are between his teethe as they are so tight! He's going to need massive amounts of dental work, as his teeth coming in are all messed up.

We went to a pediatric dentist for a little bit, but we were paying out of pocket. For a cleaning and x rays for just the boys, it was almost $500. Dh nearly sh!t himself. Considering we have state insurance and it's covered(not through the pediatric dentist though). I have heard horror stories(quick google search will show you) of the kid smiles, dental smiles, whatever franchises there are out there, that I didn't want my kids going to(and I have a fear of the dentist).
The pediatric dentist was going to cost us over $1000 to have his six filled. We don't have that. So dh took him to our state covered dentist and they didnt feel comfortable filling his teeth, so they sent him to a pediatric(chain) one up the street. Dh said it was a good experience, and Anthony did great, so I guess that's where they will end up.

Let us know what the second opinion says.

 

i , too , would get another opinion.


Also ask where the cavities are-- if they are teeth that will fall out in the next few months, I would not worry unless they were likely to get worse quickly.


That does seem like A LOT in 6 mon.

You could also ask them to prioritize them-- I have two spots being 'watched' but dont need filling- yet.

 

What's a state covered dentist versus a pediatric dentist?

We pay out of pocket too. We pay $65/month for private dental insurance so that when/if a problem occurs we're covered. So I consider that paying out of pocket.

 

We have state health insurance...Medicaid whatever you call it. So all dental is covered for the kids. Cleanings and X-rays and I think extractions are covered for me and dh. Not fillings(bane of my existence).

 

One of mine gets cavities super fast, in between the teeth. Kids teeth are much softer than adult teeth. The dentist has always told me to make sure they floss really well but... :unsure: Mine see a regular dentist here and they have been great.

I would still get a second opinion though. And the point about asking if the teeth are going to fall out soon. One of mine had a cavity in between his front teeth and they didn't do anything because they were going to fall out. Maybe try and find someone that would do it as a medical procedure too? It can't hurt to ask.

Also I know when my kid had a bunch filled, they told me it was 8 cavities, but it was really just 4 in between his molars. So because they had to drill and fill each molar, they counted (and billed) it as 8 rather than 4. If that makes sense?

 

Sorry, double post.

 

That does make me feel better. I just keep thinking about the numbers 8 & 12 and thinking how bad of a parent I am - that's like a mouth full.

 

I thought the same thing! But when they showed me the x-rays, I felt a little better. To me, it was one cavity effecting two teeth. To them, it's two cavities and double the money. 'Course in their defense, they do have to drill into two teeth and put filling material into two teeth so at lest they are kinda right.

 

Aimee, I would get a second opinion,no doubt. Not saying that it is impossible but to be cavity free 6 months ago to having that many cavities would give me pause.

 

How did you decide which one to get? How long until you get the others filled?
If I could wait like 6 months to do it that would be great. I just hate the thought of them going around with cavities.

 

I think they picked the worse one-it was a molar, and those bad boys aren't coming out for a few years... Dh said we will wait maybe til next month to do another one(or two).

 

This happened to me with William. Regular cleanings from little bitty on and then bam! 8 cavities. It was the first time they were able to do x-rays with the molar bite wings. Before then they hadn't been able to look in between the molars. What really made me mad was that the pediatric dentist won't use the older style of fillings even in between baby teeth that will fall out and never be seen. I should have taken him in for a second opinion and found someone that would have used the silver colored fillings on him. Of course my insurance company won't cover the white fillings as much so his 8 fillings cost us in the ballpark of $600.

 

The enamel on baby teeth is not as thick or 'strong' as on adult teeth and once decay starts it can progress very quickly. They are more 'bell shaped' than adult teeth which makes them more prone to cavities between the teeth.
The cavities between the teeth may not have been seen 6 months ago, especially if x-rays were not taken at that visit, or if they were just beginning they could have been labeled 'watch'. Cavities at 'watch' stage can be sometimes be halted by keeping them scrupulously clean, applying fluoride varnish etc. That's why I always ask if there are any 'watches' after a check up. A single tooth can have multiple separate cavities.

Children generally do not have the manual dexterity to brush their teeth thoroughly until about 6 years of age, not to mention flossing, so you have to go over them after the kids have finished. My girls are 8 and DH or I still go over their teeth and do the flossing every other day, and I have a dentist friend who still brushes her 8 and 10 year olds' teeth daily.

 

I would get a second opinion then I would have them fill only the immediate need ones. If they are baby teeth and they are going to fall out soon I would not see a need in filling them.

 

I called my dentist today and they offered to do an exam and Xray free of charge. I also picked up their xrays from yesterday just in case they won't cooperate at my dentist.

However, today they told me that each girl has a $1,000 max with my insurance, so if I do 1/2 in 2013 and 1/2 in 2014 it saves me a few hundred dollars. So I may go that route. I'm definitely getting the free second opinion tomorrow either way.

 

I'm glad you are getting a second opinion. A really long time ago my dentist insisted I needed a crown, he said it wasnt urgent but suggested I 'take care of it now'...this was several years ago-I said I'd wait. NEVER once has it been brought up again, at all-and I've had no issues-I think it was BS and a way for him to do a simple procedure yet make a bunch of money off my insurance.

 

UPDATE:
 
I took them for the second opinion, and that dentist saw the same thing. She actually said that she uses that pediatric dentist who I go to for her son, and that she trusts him. So even though I got the same answer, I am really glad that I took them for that second opinion because it helped me to trust in their dentist more. Nothing against him personally or anything, I think it's normal to not want to believe bad things when it comes to your children.
 
Of course letting my girls walk around with a mouth full of decaying teeth is not an option for me, so I went ahead and scheduled their appointments. I just hate to shell out all of that money! But I have to take care of my girls. I explained to Amelia that she will have 4 silver teeth but it's okay b/c the tooth fairy pays extra for silver.
 
So today the pediatric dentist called and they have an opening for Lily, tomorrow. :blink:
I'm going to go ahead and do it tomorrow and get it over with. Lily only has to get 8 filled and no silver teeth. :cry:
Wish us both luck for tomorrow. I hope it goes fast and she isn't in pain after.
 
Kids are so expensive.

 

If it helps, I've been taking one of mine in a lot lately.  He's had two (four, cavaties between the molars) filled within the last month and goes again tomorrow for one (two) more.  It's really fast with kids teeth, he's done in about 20-30 minutes, from the first shot of novacain to him walking out the door.  The worst part is the numbing shot.

 

She's being given a drug to relax her in the form of juice. I can't think of the name of it offhand...so she won't even be aware of the shot.

 

Man, I need some of that juice!  Oh wine, right.
 
I think she'll be fine then.  Fingers crossed!

 

A little versed?  Good luck.  She will be loopy and probably won't remember much.

 

Yes! That's it. Versed.
 
It made Amelia puke, so hopefully it won't have that same effect on Lil. I hope it doesn't make her eyes cross either (they cross when she relaxes and doesn't have glasses on) simply b/c how pitiful will that look if she's all cross eyed and drooling? Seeing her like that is likely to make me emotional. Silly, I know, b/c I know she's fine.

 

You should let them know about Amelia's reaction to it just in case Lily is the same.  Maybe they can give her a little zofran with the versed so she won't puke on them.  Poor punkin and momma.  :hug:

 

Thinking of y'all today! :hug:

 

Good luck today, Aimee!  Let us know how she made out! :hug:

 

She was fine. They said they don't normally give anything for nausea and it turns out Lily didn't need it. She was upset after the procedure when she got up and her lip was numb. She didn't like that one bit. I promised her that it would wear off. When we got home I put her on the loveseat and told her to stay while I made the couch into a bed. When I came back with a sheet, she was face down on the floor. So I got the mattress from Coooper's bed and brought it out for her.
She was so loopy when we got home but insisted that she could walk. I took video of her trying. She thought it was hilarious and didn't understand why we just wouldn't let her walk.
 
But now it's done and thank goodness for that. I go back with Amelia at the end of the month. The worst part was I had to be there this morning for 6:45. Doug was off today so I met him at home but then I was back at work by 9:45. So this feels like the day that never ends. <yawn>

 

I'm glad it went well with no sickness. What a long day for you!
 
Did the dentist say if it's a prematurity thing? I am so paranoid about teeth issues because of it..

 

No, the dentist didn't say anything about prematurity being a cause. He did say that Cooper's teeth look the best of the 3.
 
Of course me being a mom and feeling guilty I attributed it to Cooper being the only I breastfed. But that is another thought, maybe it was because they were early. Technically they were only 2 days shy of full term though, they were born at 36 + 5 and were 6 lbs each.

 

See, my dentist was very dismissive of my concerns but I remember (and Paul does, too, when i asked him later) our neonatal team talking about calcium forming the enamel of teeth during the final weeks of gestation? We both remember this conversation about how it is one of the last things to happen, yet the dentist and google don't support it.
 
I wonder if it was something the neonatologist was studying or theorizing rather than fact.
 
NO MAMA GUILT, Aimee!   :hug:

 

I'm glad it went well!