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Originally Posted by Looie
Hi Popo,
Love your advice! I have a 10 year old son, after skipping the dentist for 18-24 months, I took him in and found that, in spite of sealants, he has 4-5 cavities (they won't know for sure until they get in between the teeth). They're all in baby teeth molars. His 4 permanent molars that have erupted and show in the x-ray look good.
Here's the thing - the baby molars have flattened surfaces and deep pits (the dentist says it's definitely from acid reflux). Since the 4 permanent molars show no damage, I'm wondering/hoping the acid reflux has stopped. The dentist has given us a proposed treatment plan of $921.00. ($246 each for 2 surface fillings and $183.00 for the composite 1 surface posterior)
Also, she said she thought he needed crowns because he will keep these teeth a while, but we could go with fillings with the knowledge that they may not last.
Should I get a 2nd opinion, and does that price seem reasonable?
PS - Not sure, but I think the reflux may have been from a year with a mean 4th grade teacher.
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I don't know if popo is still answering so here is some advice.
While that sort of look can come from acid reflux, I've seen a lot of kids with that sort of damage on baby teeth with no damage at all on permanent, and as such either the acid reflux would be gone or something else is causing it. TBH I don't know for sure, its not something I've spent a lot of time on but I would not worry about it.
As for the crowns, fillings, it really depends on how deep they are. As a rule I'd go with fillings over crowns at that age (those teeth should be gone in 2 years or so) and if you are having a 'bad vibe' from the dentist get a second opinion. Sometimes I think dentists are way over aggressive in treating cavities.
BTW at 10 he should have all of his permanent front incisor teeth and should have had those back molars since age 6 or so. If they show no 'acid' damage then dont' worry about it.