To fill or not to fill - child's molars

farmerwifelet

Hello

Due to son's autism his teeth are in a bad way - his molars have visible caries. He is 6 so will have his molars til he is 12. Two private dentists have said he really needs fillings to prevent abscesses and further damage. cost of fillings, possible extractions and possible crowns under GA at between 1.5k and 3.5k. They said as he was autistic the HSE should provide treatment.
I rang the HSE was told by receptionist that fillings were waste of money, that it would be too traumatising to put him under ga for fillings as the teeth would probably be so rotten they would need to be extracted later. To call them when he gets an abscess and they would extract his teeth then.

I don't want to get him unnecessary treatment or ga but I don't want to wait until he has a painful abscess to get him treatment either.

Oral Surgeon

Don't take the receptionist's word on a clinical decision. Make an appointment to see the HSE dentist and see what they propose.

They might have a policy that filling primary teeth might be a waste of money but check first.

There are significant benefits to maintaining the primary teeth as they act as a space maintainer for the subsequent adult teeth. Early loss of primary molars nearly always results in crowded adult teeth....

Whilst it is difficult to keep the teeth in check in an autistic patient, you must be extra careful to reduce the frequency of sugar in his diet. I'd also consider high strength topical fluoride...

Good luck,
OS

farmerwifelet wrote: »

Hello

Due to son's autism his teeth are in a bad way - his molars have visible caries. He is 6 so will have his molars til he is 12. Two private dentists have said he really needs fillings to prevent abscesses and further damage. cost of fillings, possible extractions and possible crowns under GA at between 1.5k and 3.5k. They said as he was autistic the HSE should provide treatment.
I rang the HSE was told by receptionist that fillings were waste of money, that it would be too traumatising to put him under ga for fillings as the teeth would probably be so rotten they would need to be extracted later. To call them when he gets an abscess and they would extract his teeth then.

I don't want to get him unnecessary treatment or ga but I don't want to wait until he has a painful abscess to get him treatment either.

farmerwifelet

Thanks OS. I am going to arrange to see the dentist himself and see what he says. Waiting until extraction is the only option is crazy to me. I am cutting out biscuits and "sticky" foods. Will get topical flouride thanks for that. (There is none in our well water)

Toots

Speaking from my own experience as a child, I had abscesses in my teeth and they were horrendous. I ended up having to have teeth extracted and it was very traumatic (I was about 8) I'm still scared of the dentist to this day.

I'd definitely speak to the dentist instead of the receptionist, if the fillings would hold him over til the teeth naturally fall out, it could be a lot less upsetting to get them done than it would be to allow the abscesses to develop and then have to have the teeth out.

farmerwifelet

Thanks toots. Yeah little dude has things hard enough without the pain of abcsess. Think I will have to get them filled. Wouldnt wish it on anyone let alone a child. Had one as an adult can only imagine the pain you had.

Toots

They were pretty awful alright. And in fairness the dentist in the public clinic near me was awful. I think I'd prefer to have been sedated. My little sister has down syndrome and when she was a kid all her dental work had to be done under GA. She's in her 20s now and luckily we found a lovely dentist who is very good and patient, so now she will get her check ups every 6 months, and also goes to the hygienist regularly. Thankfully she hasn't had to have any fillings etc done in a long time. Like your little boy, she had a lot of problems when she had her baby teeth but not as much with the adult ones.

farmerwifelet

Thats great that your sister got a good dentist. I am hoping like that if I get his baby teeth sorted it will minimise the problems with his adult teeth. He had major sensory issues with his mouth so its only in the last year or so we can brush his teeth properly and use toothpaste.