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Michaela
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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It's either genetics or I am doing something wrong.  Three of my four have had early teeth problems. Nathan had problems so bad that the dentist told me that I couldn't be nursing, but leave him with a bottle all night. (untrue, no bottles) Nathan had to have all his from teeth pulled and the rest capped.  Thank goodness, all his permanent teeth came in the front...his smile is beautiful.
Now, I'm noticing something about Teresa's incisors. 
What do you do for your toddler teeth care? Tooth brush or those rubber things that go over your finger? I've heard to wipe after each time they nurse. Do you do that? I never have. Maybe that's our problem.
Our dentists haven't given preventative advice, more....chew me out when there is a problem.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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CAgirl4God
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 11:00am | IP Logged
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I think it has more to do with genetics then teeth care...
all of my kids have good teach.. but they don't take particularly great care of them.
I have good teeth. only two cavities.
my dh had horrible teeth.. most of his teeth have cavities and he has one root canal and a crown. he is only 37 lol.
I do brush our toddlers teeth. I do it first then, I let her brush her own for a few.
just a regular little toothbrush with a tiny bit of toothpaste. when she does it, she just uses water, no paste...
sorry that you have had such problems.. I feel both lucky and blessed.
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Lorri
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 12:21pm | IP Logged
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I think it's genetic. When my uncle was a toddler, he was discovered to have a number of cavities. I had caps on my 2 front teeth. My sons only, not my daughters, have had caps put on their teeth, too. I've never wiped their teeth after they nursed, so you would think my girls would have had trouble, but they didn't. Some of us have weaker enamel than others.
We brush our toddler's teeth like CAgirl described.
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Lorri
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The Mac and Cheese Chronicles
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happymama
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 1:04pm | IP Logged
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I agree, genetics must surely play a part, but make sure there's enough fluoride in your water, too - statistically that seems to make a difference.
my 5yo recently had his first fillings - 4 of them - i felt so bad about it. Evidently his back teeth grew very close together (a lot of baby teeth have spaces between them) so flossing is really the only way to keep them clean. I admitted to the dentist that we had rarely been flossing all the teeth well, and he just HAD to look at my blossoming belly and my 3 little tots and say something along the lines of "if you're too busy to take care of their teeth, then you have too many children"!
Anyway, simply the cost of this dental work (even with our dental insurance) has made dental care a priority in our house. All kids get teeth brushed before bed and flossed with the disposable threaded flossers.
I rarely wiped gums or brushed teeth while the children were still nursing, but i did occasionally use one of the rubber things that goes on your finger - actually seemed like it helped with teething pain, i thought. Good luck to you!
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Nina
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| Posted: April 09 2008 at 5:46pm | IP Logged
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Michaela,ask your doctor about flouride drops/tablets.I could be wrong,but if you live in WA they do not put flouride in the water.Our ped. always gives us a Rx for the flouride to give to our children.Our state also does not add it to the water.It could help some.
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mathmama
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| Posted: April 10 2008 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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I totally agree that genetics probably plays a huge part in how good someone's teeth are. I didn't go to the dentist for 10+ years, only brush hurredly once a day, and *never* floss and when I went to the dentist last fall my teeth were perfect. I have a good friend who does everything right and is *constantly* having tooth problems. She eats very well, too, so it isn't like she doesn't take care of herself. So, my conclusion...genetics.
Beth
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Jess
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| Posted: April 11 2008 at 1:55pm | IP Logged
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I agree with the genetics, my dh has bad teeth and so do several of the people in his family and now I see it in some of my children but not all. We have tried to start brushing our 13 mo old's teeth sometimes but it isn't easy, she fights me over it. I need to try harder.
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Jess
+JMJ+
wife to dh('96)
mama to dd(13), dd(11), ds(9), dd(6), and dd (2), and baby girl born Sept 14!
star cottage
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Toddler Teeth Care
