I need to find a pediatric dentist that can actually do work on my child. She tends to be a challenge in the dental chair. Right now she has decay on three molars. The first one is small but deep and hurting her. The other two have surface decay but one is fairly extensive. Is there a trick to getting feisty children to stay still in the dental chair?

Karen

Dear Karen,

It is not uncommon for little ones to be a tad uncooperative in the dental chair. Though, it sounds like your daughter struggles a bit more than usual.

Because of the seriousness of her decay you are borderline facing a dental emergency, I’m going to recommend you see a pediatric dentist who offers dental sedation so this can be dealt with immediately. The sedation will allow your daughter to sleep while the work is being done.

It is important she keeps these back teeth in her teeth until she turns around twelve years old. If they come out early, her other teeth will begin to shift into the open space causing the need for orthodontics later in life.

A Word About Your Daughter’s Decay

It’s obvious you care about your daughter. I want to make sure you understand this type of decay is not only the result of her not being cooperative at the dentist. It would require some additional issues, like snacking all the time. Sometimes, parents give in to snacks and juice requests all day as long as their children are of a healthy weight, without realizing the damage it can do. Sometimes, it’s a matter of a child sneaking food. One mom just told me she found her six-year-old son drinking the Hersheys Syrup under the kitchen table.

One thing would be to limit her to one snack a day. If she asks for drinks, give her water instead of juice. This will prevent all the sugar intake that has been chipping away at her enamel.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.