HELP! Fill it or pull it? DS10 has huge cavity in molar!

[Catwoman]

DS10 has a dental appointment tomorrow because he has a huge cavity in the largest of his "baby" molars on the lower right-hand side of his mouth. I knew there was a cavity there, but was hoping he'd lose the tooth naturally before the cavity became a real problem.

 

Well, that didn't happen.

 

Last night, ds said he felt a hole in his tooth, and when I looked, it appeared that part of the center of the tooth (where the cavity is) dislodged from the tooth, and part of the tooth went with it.

 

DS is 10 1/2, and I think he's due to lose the tooth fairly soon anyway (although I could be mistaken about that, because I'm not exactly an expert on dentistry!) I'm trying to decide whether or not to have the dentist fill the cavity and "rebuild" the small part in the side of the tooth that broke loose, or if it would be better to just have him extract the tooth.

 

DS has nice, straight teeth, and I don't want to risk having his other teeth move to fill the gap where this tooth was pulled (assuming it could be a while before a new tooth grows in.) On the other hand, all of the teeth around it are already adult teeth, so maybe having a gap there for a while wouldn't be a big deal.

 

Clearly, I am clueless.

 

I'm hoping that the dentist will take an x-ray tomorrow and it will show that a new tooth is already forming under the decayed one, so it will be ok to just pull out the damaged tooth, but if it's not, I'm not sure what to do. I think the dentist will give me good advice, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I went in to the appointment knowing what the hive thinks!

 

Thank you or any ideas or advice!!!

 

Cat

[Mejane]

I'm hoping that the dentist will take an x-ray tomorrow and it will show that a new tooth is already forming under the decayed one, so it will be ok to just pull out the damaged tooth, but if it's not, I'm not sure what to do.

 

 

 

If this is the case, I'd definitely pull it. If not, I think you do have a valid concern about his other teeth moving. I'd probably have it filled in that case.

[mommytobees]

I'd have the dentist remove it and put a spacer in the spot. A spacer is annoying and he MAY NOT PLAY WITH IT!! But it works.

 

Kris

[Catwoman]

I'd have the dentist remove it and put a spacer in the spot. A spacer is annoying and he MAY NOT PLAY WITH IT!! But it works.

 

Kris

 

That's an interesting idea, Kris. Is the spacer removable, or is it somehow attached to his other teeth?

 

Cat

[AngieW in Texas]

I was worried about it when my middle dd had to have a molar removed at 5yo because of an abcess at the root of the tooth. Even though it took several years for that tooth to come in, the space didn't fill in.

[Carrie12345]

Yank it and get a spacer, if it's needed!

After what my dds just went through over trying to save a molar each, I can't imagine giving any other advice. And their decay wasn't large, just deep.

 

FWIW, my 8yo is not getting a spacer b/c the adult tooth will be there fairly soon. My 7yo gets a spacer (non-removable... well, until the tooth comes in) next week.

[hornblower]

another vote for pull + spacer

 

dd had a bad cavity which we had filled, then discovered it had continued to go bad & gone down into the root.

 

we put my poor dd through a root canal which failed & she ended up getting that tooth pulled & a spacer put in. if I had known how simple that would be, I'd never have even tried the root canal.

 

BTW, she did play with it LOL. She used to grate carrots & apples on her spacer & it did pop out a couple times but the dentist just cemented it back in, no fuss, no pain, no charge, no problem.

[Lawana]

Ds, 11, just lost the last of his baby molars, and he is an average to late teether. He's only got his 4 6yr molars to chew on─the rest is gap after gap. I vote for pull, and I doubt he'd need a spacer.

[Catwoman]

Thanks so much, everyone! I'm so glad I posted here, because I really needed some "real world" info before I speak with the dentist tomorrow. I feel better now that I know that there are a few options.

 

If anyone feels inclined, please say a little prayer for ds -- he's pretty nervous about possibly having a tooth pulled! (And he's not excited about the needle, either.)

 

Cat

[KidsHappen]

Have it pulled and get a placer installed. It sounds to me that the tooth is bad enough that if they tried to repair it, it would require a root canal and crown. Not worth it on a tooth he is going to lose shortly anyhow.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I agree with pulling. But you want to make sure that the dentist checks to make sure that the cavity did not go all the way down to the adult tooth underneath.

[nd293]

If your ds is nervous, and you have time and resources, consider a paediatric dentist. Ours deals with children and special needs adults, and they have the skills and experience in how to calm patients. My ds was 2.5yrs when he needed his first filling (poor enamel development on his molars). This child wouldn't let a doctor touch him, and the dentist had him sit through 1 filling the first appointment, and 2 fillings the next appointment. It was amazing. They pre-explained every step in terms he could manage ("ticking the bugs") and showed him the instruments, let him touch them etc.

 

Good luck!

 

Nikki

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

As the others have said, pull it and have a spacer put in. Very easy and pain free. My dd had that with 1 tooth. It would be more money and pain to put all that work into a tooth that will fall out within the next year or two! (especially if they start talking root canal :eek:)

[*********]

Ok, I realize the OP's son probably had his dental work done earlier today, but I just have to weigh in here...

 

It's almost 2am where I am. Why am I not sleeping, you ask? Well, I'll tell you why.

 

Because on Friday afternoon, I had two teeth pulled. And they still hurt like crazy!

 

I also had a filling. Well, I was SUPPOSED to have just one filling, but I ended up with, um, like four I think. Once the dentist 'got in there', he found a few more small cavities, and he took care of them. I've never had a filling before, so I didn't know what to expect, pain wise.

 

Guess what; the fillings don't hurt at all. They are not bugging me. Now granted, I did not have a root canal, just fillings. So I have no idea what sort of pain is associated with recovering from a root canal. But I can tell you that, as I sit here 3 1/2 days later, the two spots in my mouth where I had a tooth yanked are THROBBING, and I have no pain at all from any fillings.

 

So please, everyone who's suggested pulling (and I do believe that's everyone else who has commented so far besides me, LOL). IT HURTS! A LOT! TO HAVE A TOOTH PULLED!

 

There, I've said my piece. I feel validated. :D

 

(Ok, and YESSSSSS, everyone else's advice about pulling it is probably the way to go. But man it HURTS!)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ok, I realize the OP's son probably had his dental work done earlier today, but I just have to weigh in here...

 

It's almost 2am where I am. Why am I not sleeping, you ask? Well, I'll tell you why.

 

Because on Friday afternoon, I had two teeth pulled. And they still hurt like crazy!

 

I also had a filling. Well, I was SUPPOSED to have just one filling, but I ended up with, um, like four I think. Once the dentist 'got in there', he found a few more small cavities, and he took care of them. I've never had a filling before, so I didn't know what to expect, pain wise.

 

Guess what; the fillings don't hurt at all. They are not bugging me. Now granted, I did not have a root canal, just fillings. So I have no idea what sort of pain is associated with recovering from a root canal. But I can tell you that, as I sit here 3 1/2 days later, the two spots in my mouth where I had a tooth yanked are THROBBING, and I have no pain at all from any fillings.

 

So please, everyone who's suggested pulling (and I do believe that's everyone else who has commented so far besides me, LOL). IT HURTS! A LOT! TO HAVE A TOOTH PULLED!

 

There, I've said my piece. I feel validated. :D

 

(Ok, and YESSSSSS, everyone else's advice about pulling it is probably the way to go. But man it HURTS!)

 

Bethany, call your dentist. You may have "dry socket".

[*********]

Bethany, call your dentist. You may have "dry socket".

 

Dang it.

 

Ugh.

 

WHy'd you have to go and say that OUT LOUD, Jean?

 

:D

 

Dang it, again. :glare:

 

I thought maybe. I was hoping not. But I have a IRL friend who told me her tooth-pulling horror story last week, that ended in her having a dry socket. (She really is a good friend, despite her almost causing me to cancel my dentist appt. with her horrid tale.) She said she got it because the pain medicine upset her stomach, and she vomited some after having the teeth pulled.

 

Well, it took me almost two whole days to figure out how to keep my pain meds down. I think I vomited 7 or 8 times total. (TMI, anyone? :D) And each time, I thought of my friend, and her warning about not getting a dry socket.

 

Ugh.

 

Ok, seriously, if the antibiotics he prescribes me give me so much as a hang nail, I might lose it.

 

And NO, I don't know how I'd get a hang nail from antibiotics. But you get my point. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dang it.

 

Ugh.

 

WHy'd you have to go and say that OUT LOUD, Jean?

 

:D

 

Dang it, again. :glare:

 

I thought maybe. I was hoping not. But I have a IRL friend who told me her tooth-pulling horror story last week, that ended in her having a dry socket. (She really is a good friend, despite her almost causing me to cancel my dentist appt. with her horrid tale.) She said she got it because the pain medicine upset her stomach, and she vomited some after having the teeth pulled.

 

Well, it took me almost two whole days to figure out how to keep my pain meds down. I think I vomited 7 or 8 times total. (TMI, anyone? :D) And each time, I thought of my friend, and her warning about not getting a dry socket.

 

Ugh.

 

Ok, seriously, if the antibiotics he prescribes me give me so much as a hang nail, I might lose it.

 

And NO, I don't know how I'd get a hang nail from antibiotics. But you get my point. :)

 

:grouphug: You'll feel better with antibiotics - that is, if you really need it. Honest. :grouphug:

[jen_pad]

Bethany,

 

My hubby had a dry socket and although it was painful before he called the dentist and went back it was not so bad after. The dentist told us to go to the pharmacy and get oil of clove and soak a tiny piece of cotton ball with it and pack the hole...........he said it tasted awful when he got it on his tongue but worked miracles. It was all better in about 3 days! Call your dentist, your fix might be something very simple and hopefully painfree.....saying prayers for you!

 

Blessings,

Jennifer

[twoxcell]

I think there is a big difference having a baby tooth and an adult tooth pulled. More than likely the roots of his baby tooth are almost dissolved anyways. My 7 year old ds just had a baby molar pulled today. It was abscessed. He was running around like a crazy person after a couple of hours and has not complained of any pain.

[mommytobees]

That's an interesting idea, Kris. Is the spacer removable, or is it somehow attached to his other teeth?

 

Cat

 

It is attached to the tooth next to it.

 

It IS removable, if you play with it enough :glare:.

 

Kris

[Carrie12345]

 

Because on Friday afternoon, I had two teeth pulled. And they still hurt like crazy!

.....

 

So please, everyone who's suggested pulling (and I do believe that's everyone else who has commented so far besides me, LOL). IT HURTS! A LOT! TO HAVE A TOOTH PULLED!

 

 

Dh had one pulled a few months ago and, yes, it hurt like the devil. For a couple of days. Our dds, otoh, came home smiling and eager to eat. It's a whole different experience with baby teeth!

[KidsHappen]

Ok, I realize the OP's son probably had his dental work done earlier today, but I just have to weigh in here...

 

It's almost 2am where I am. Why am I not sleeping, you ask? Well, I'll tell you why.

 

Because on Friday afternoon, I had two teeth pulled. And they still hurt like crazy!

 

I also had a filling. Well, I was SUPPOSED to have just one filling, but I ended up with, um, like four I think. Once the dentist 'got in there', he found a few more small cavities, and he took care of them. I've never had a filling before, so I didn't know what to expect, pain wise.

 

Guess what; the fillings don't hurt at all. They are not bugging me. Now granted, I did not have a root canal, just fillings. So I have no idea what sort of pain is associated with recovering from a root canal. But I can tell you that, as I sit here 3 1/2 days later, the two spots in my mouth where I had a tooth yanked are THROBBING, and I have no pain at all from any fillings.

 

So please, everyone who's suggested pulling (and I do believe that's everyone else who has commented so far besides me, LOL). IT HURTS! A LOT! TO HAVE A TOOTH PULLED!

 

There, I've said my piece. I feel validated. :D

 

(Ok, and YESSSSSS, everyone else's advice about pulling it is probably the way to go. But man it HURTS!)

 

Yes, definitely get it checked. My brother had all four wisdom teeth pulled and two of them got dry socket. He said it really hurt and my brother is pretty tough.

 

On the other hand, have never had any problems with fillings but almost always have problem with root canals and crowns. I have two teeth that had to have the root canals re-done two or three times because they didn't get all the roots the first time. Then they had to put crowns. I always have pain after they do this kind of work and then they still occasionally flare up and hurt sometimes years later. The first time it happened, I was totally perplexed as I didn't understand how a tooth that had no roots could hurt. My dentist said that sometimes the nerves around the tooth will get inflamed and hurt and that there really isn't much they can do about it other than give you pain meds.

 

Finally, baby teeth are much easier to pull. My children were all late getting their teeth and then some of them never fell out so the dentist had to take them out. They had this smooth curved tool which they just kind of ran around the tooth at the gum line and then just popped the tooth out. Most of the time they didn't even use novacain and it didn't bother the children at all. My youngest has terrible teeth and she has had to have pulllings, root canals and crowns and has never really had any problems.

[Catwoman]

Thanks so much for all of the replies!!!

 

Ds's appointment is two hours from now, and the dentist's office is only 5 minutes from our house, so we won't be leaving for quite a while. (I wish the appointment had been at 8:00 this morning, so we would have been finished and back home by now!)

 

My dh doesn't understand why I would consider having the tooth pulled, but if the dentist says that ds will lose it within several months anyway, it seems kind of silly to fill the cavity and then have ds pull it out himself when it gets loose.

 

OTOH, it's a big molar and I'm worried that it might be painful to have it removed, especially since it's not at all loose.

 

Is dry socket a big problem with baby teeth? I know it happens to adults, but I didn't think it was much of an issue with kids.

 

Ds is trying to be courageous about the whole thing, but says that he can't help being scared about the needle. He seems ok about the idea of getting the tooth filled, but is worried about the prospect of having a tooth pulled.

 

I am probably in worse shape than he is, because I hate to see him nervous about this!

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

I forgot to ask -- if he has the tooth pulled, would the dentist put the spacer in right away, or will he allow the area to heal first?

 

Also, is it painful to have a spacer put in? Do they hurt for a while afterward?

 

I wish I wasn't such a worrier.

 

Cat

[Jen in PA]

My DS had two molars pulled the week he turned five, due to an abscess beneath a filling (on one side) and the fact that they could see a nasty cavity forming in the identical tooth on the other side (his cavities always "twin" due to some crazy structural thing that caused his teeth to come in with weaknesses that are the same on each side :crying:). These were baby teeth, the molars second from the back. The adult teeth won't arrive there until he is 11 or 12. They gave him novocaine, which did hurt, and yanked the teeth, which was mostly just a lot of pressure and blood. The issue he had was with the giant needle, which is the same whether they are extracting or filling. He was eating with no problems two hours later. They put the spacer in about a month later.

[Catwoman]

Thanks, Jen -- that must have been so scary for a 5 year-old (and possibly worse for his mom...)

 

Cat

[Jen in PA]

Thanks, Jen -- that must have been so scary for a 5 year-old (and possibly worse for his mom...)

 

Cat

 

It was definitely harder on me than it was on him! He bounced back so quickly. The dentist who did the extraction said that kids heal very quickly after this sort of thing, and I was really thrilled to find that he was right. Good luck with everything today!

[Catwoman]

Thanks -- we're leaving in about 20 minutes or so.

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

QUICK UPDATE:

 

Great news! The dentist was able to fill the tooth, so we didn't have to worry about extractions or spacers.

 

Ds was very brave, and although he was really scared about the needle, he said it hardly hurt at all, and he didn't feel a thing during the drilling. (I go to the same dentist, and I swear he's a miracle worker -- I've had root canals and they didn't hurt a bit!)

 

Needless to say, both ds and I are relieved that it's over, and ds says he feels silly about having been so worried. (I'm feeling a little silly myself, but I didn't admit it... ;) )

 

Thanks again for all of the advice and encouragement!!! :)

 

Cat

[mum]

Find a dentist that is highly recommended by friends who have needed work, and do what he says.

[Lawana]

QUICK UPDATE:

 

Great news! The dentist was able to fill the tooth, so we didn't have to worry about extractions or spacers.

 

Ds was very brave, and although he was really scared about the needle, he said it hardly hurt at all, and he didn't feel a thing during the drilling. (I go to the same dentist, and I swear he's a miracle worker -- I've had root canals and they didn't hurt a bit!)

 

Needless to say, both ds and I are relieved that it's over, and ds says he feels silly about having been so worried. (I'm feeling a little silly myself, but I didn't admit it... ;) )

 

Thanks again for all of the advice and encouragement!!! :)

 

Cat

I'm so glad it worked out for your ds. What a relief for you and him!

[Jean in Newcastle]

QUICK UPDATE:

 

Great news! The dentist was able to fill the tooth, so we didn't have to worry about extractions or spacers.

 

Ds was very brave, and although he was really scared about the needle, he said it hardly hurt at all, and he didn't feel a thing during the drilling. (I go to the same dentist, and I swear he's a miracle worker -- I've had root canals and they didn't hurt a bit!)

 

Needless to say, both ds and I are relieved that it's over, and ds says he feels silly about having been so worried. (I'm feeling a little silly myself, but I didn't admit it... ;) )

 

Thanks again for all of the advice and encouragement!!! :)

 

Cat

 

I am so glad!

[Catwoman]

Thanks!!! :)

 

Cat

[Truman School]

Glad it worked out for your son. I was just going to say, that getting adult teeth pulled is very different than children's teeth, but I'm happy there was no need for any pulling at all.