I took my four year old to the dentist yesterday, because he's been complaining about one of his teeth hurting. He's not the best brusher, & despite efforts from our end, I looked & saw a dark spot on his tooth, scheduled the dentist appointment, & expected a filling yesterday. Not quite. It turns out he's broken 1/2 of his back tooth off & because there was no enamel, he has a huge cavity that extends into the nerve. He has to have a crown (not enough tooth left to support a filling) and a root canal (baby version is called a pulpotomy) to get it taken care of. We're scheduled for Tuesday morning, & I'm super nervous! They will be giving him something to relax him, but warned me that he would likely be very swollen & in pain for several days. Just in time for Thanksgiving.
My poor baby! I haven't the foggiest idea how much our dental plan will cover, but I'm guessing this will be a pricey procedure. Fingers crossed that it goes well & he's not in pain/nervous/and that I survive the stress of it all. :-)
Yesterday was not a great day from a stress, financial, or health point of view. I was running late all day, bought lunch (and a cookie!) at the work cafeteria, picked up Wendy's after swimming practice (M is out of town & I'm juggling a million things), & my stomach & wallet are regretting the spontaneous purchases. Better choices for today!
Have you/your kids ever had to have serious dental work done? The most I've ever had was a filling, so I'm nervous for next week!
Poor little guy! :( Why would they just not pull the tooth since he's only 4... It's just a baby tooth right? I'm sure everything will be fine! :)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing as Carla, why wouldn't they just pull it? I remember or reading the same thing very recently and the mom just asked if they would pull the tooth instead and the doctor was fine with it. Sounds like a big expense for something that might not be necessary?
ReplyDeleteEither way hopefully your little guy is able to stay calm and relaxed. And it heals up really quickly!
I was also wondering why they don't just pull it out. Hope it all goes well for you both.
ReplyDeleteApparently, the tooth is a molar that doesn't come out until he's 12, so needs to last for 8 years. It's his very back tooth, and it needs to have a crown to ensure that as the other tooth comes in behind it.
ReplyDeletePoor baby :-( I hope the procedure goes well and your insurance covers most of it!
ReplyDeleteA friend brought her daughter to the dentist for the first time recently and she had over 10 cavities... they are doing a bit of work at a time, it's going well but insurance coverage has run out...
My now 14 yr old had it done at age 5. The pulpotomy and crown. It wasn't bad at all. We had a great dentist. Lots of freezing and there wasn't a lot of swelling. The mommy guilt cost me 2 "Rescue Hero's" (They were the big thing at the time)
ReplyDeleteThere was another tooth that the pulpotomy didn't work on as the tooth kept breaking. Just put in a spacer for a couple of years.
I always find that the "thought" of the dentist is always worse than the actual :)
Hope it turns out that way for your little guy!
Definitely. My son had his two molar teeth filled last week. He's a chocoholic. Anyway, it was his first time to go through a dental treatment. He was very nervous at first, but everything went well in the end. Thank goodness. =)
ReplyDeleteHertha Gearin