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5/52

2/25/2013

5 Comments

 
Picture
A portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2013
5 admiring his lovely smile after his very first trip to the dentist.
Yeah, so let's talk pediatric dentistry for a minute...
There are so many things here that I have mixed feelings about.

The dentists say that babies should come in as soon as they get their first tooth, our pediatrician said we could wait till he was 3 or 4- kind of crazy with the mixed messages. I decided to bring him in because I noticed plaque on his teeth and he's ground them hard enough to chip two of them- seemed like a good time to see a professional.

I was really pleased to be able to take him to the same pediatric dentist that I saw for almost all of my childhood (I have good teeth and no traumatic dentist memories).

Talking fluoride, toothpaste, and "nursing habits" left me feeling a bit unsure though. I know that fluoride is beneficial to kids under 7 or 8, but that it is also terrible if you get too much. Since 5 still swallows all his toothpaste we use fluoride-free stuff. Besides, we live in a city with fluoridated water. The dentist recommended we start using fluoride toothpaste though, even though he's going to swallow that. Just not sure how I feel about that.

We also use hippie toothpaste that doesn't have harsh abrasives in it (like the sodium laurel/laureth sulfides) because that stuff in nasty. But. I'm also noticing that it can be difficult to get all the plaque off of his teeth when we brush. Hmmm.

Lastly, the dentist said that I should wipe his teeth off after he nurses. Every time. Even when he's (and I'm) sleeping. Now, I'm not a lactation consultant, but I'm not sure how the breast milk gets on his teeth. I've seen the diagrams, that stuff barely hits his mouth at all. Just kind of confused about that whole thing.

So, all you mamas and other protectors of children's teeth- how do you navigate these waters? What worked for you? What didn't? Thanks!
5 Comments
Christa
2/25/2013 11:53:52 am

There are many groups out there that propose fluoridation of public water is criminal. The fluoride derives from chemical waste. If you check out the Price-Pottenger Foundation as well as the Weston A. Price Foundation http://www.westonaprice.org/, you will begin to develop a new outlook on the link between nutrition and cavitities rather than the idea that a manmade toothbrush & paste will save our teeth which are alive and need to be nourished from our diet just like the rest of our bones although teeth do not contain marrow like bones. One of the most intriguing books I've ever read is Nutrition & Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price http://www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Price/dp/0916764206. This book documents how teeth have developed in response to the white man's diet. I question and disagree with some of the dentist's suggestions in your post. Hope this information provides some empowerment to you.

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Ansley link
2/26/2013 10:43:22 pm

Thanks for all the information Christa! Looks like I have some reading to do....

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Brooke
2/25/2013 11:30:10 pm

I've read from other co-sleeping moms that they wipe off babies teeth during the day after nursing but not at night, and they are not seeing cavities. As for toothpaste, personally I'd be hesitant to use a fluoride toothpaste if I knew it was all going to be swallowed. I don't know what the recommended levels of fluoride are, but if he's getting fluoridated water, I'd feel like that's enough. I wonder, do they still make the little tablets that kids can chew up to stain the tartar? That way when they brush their teeth you can see if they missed some spots? Rowan has 2 teeth, but I can't imagine taking her to the dentist right now, I feel pretty sure she'd just freak out and have a miserable experience.

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Ansley link
2/26/2013 10:48:07 pm

Thanks Brooke- glad to know someone else has some of the same hesitations. I'll have to look for those tablets, I think 5 might really like them!
We waited until we did to take him to the dentist for that same reason- if he was just going to be miserable, it could start a lifelong hatred of dentistry too...

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dental planet wichita falls link
5/13/2013 07:21:38 pm

If you regularly visit the dentist will have healthy teeth

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    Author

    My name is Ansley Knoch. I am the creator of Rispok, a line of accessories for big and little people made from repurposed materials. I live in Madison, Wisconsin with my husband, Fred, and our son, also Fred, better known as 5.

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