Help: my 13 mo has dental plaque already!

Yesterday I mentioned my dd has brown spots on her 2 upper teeth.  She has 7 teeth total and she brushes them every day with training toothpaste.  Does this mean she needs more fluoride and I should use perhaps regular Sensodyne?  I give her water that is enhanced with fluoride but I heard some kids take fluoride tablets.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[tiredbuthappy]

I think fluoride has nothing to do with plaque forming. It influences how strong teeth are, but it won't remove plaque. Definitely dont use regular toothpaste. That can be bad for little ones as it should not be swallowed. I would recommend you take her to a pediatric dentist. She should not have brown spots. Is she falling asleep with a bottle in her mouth? That can lead to some serious teeth decay. Some of the kids I have worked with have had their teeth rot out by the age of 4. Each class has 1 or 2 kids like that! She needs to brush her teeth after the last feed of the day so that her teeth are clean when she goes to bed. Bacteria thrive on the sugars in milk and juice.

[Ashelen]

Also flouride can cause brown spots, which sometimes reappear as the adult teeth grow in....so avoid flouride until older, unless the dentist recommends otherwise. My pediatrician said he had a 14-month-old come in with the insides of all of her teeth rotten because she was drinking very sugary juices from a soft-spout sippy cup...I'm not sure if that was really what was going on but I know that he recommended we only give one cup of juice a day (the toddler kind, fortified with vitamins and minerals) to our daughter (almost 18 months old now), one cup of whole milk, and the rest should be plain (non-vitamin, non-flavored) water. The last things she drinks before bed should always be water....in fact it's a good idea to give her a small sippy cup of water after dinner and before teeth-brushing to help swish out some of the in-between-tooth bacterias.

All that being said...sometimes it's just in the genes :(. even if you have healthy teeth and you do everything for her, sometimes teeth just aren't as tough as they should be...brown spots are not necessarily signs of decay, but may be a sign of too much flouride from your tap water...do you know how much is in your local water system? or sometimes it's just from damage caused to the roots as the baby teeth came in. I have a brown spot on my front tooth that came from damage to the root...and unfortunately it reappeared as my adult teeth grew in. I have had it bleached (about 12 years ago) and it never reappeared after that, so don't worry too much...

today's dentistry offers a lot in the way of restorative cosmetic so if there's nothing wrong and she ends up having brown spots you can always get it fixed later...just ask her pediatrician what he thinks it is, and be honest about what you feed her and when, so he can help you determine cause.

oh sorry I just scrolled up and notice you said you already give her flouride-enhanced water...this should be avoided until after age 2 or 3 (can't remember which) and is most likely the source of the spots....check with your pediatrician.

[AnnieBrooke]

Go see the pediatric dentist.  

[30something13]

Teeth that come in bad are from one of three different things. The mother did nto get enough calcium during pregnancy or eat the right things, the baby has botttles to go to bed, has more then 4 oz of juice a day that is NOT half water half juice, ( juice shoudl not be given till after age one! ) Also if the child is around others with mouth stuff as gengivitis (sp?) and dips or smokes they can get the bacteria in there mouth as a one year old puts stuff to his mouth 81x and hour! Like if they kiss the babies mouth or hands then the hands go to the mouth and it is transfered! All these things will give babies bad teeth! Floride is NOT recommended for children and really babies should NOT use any type of tooth paste with floride in it! I know they are on the market but babies will swallow it and it has not been shown to stop cavities!!!! Our water already has it in there if you ahve city water and the baby will end up geting to much! I am allergic to it and have never had a cavity ever! Neither have my sisters! My neices and nephews the ones who have gotten floride have cavities and the ones that did not do not have any! IT breaks down the natural compound on the teeth and just plain quaze is sufficent to clean babies teeth till they can brush themselves. WHen older you can use a natural tooth paste to keep the natural structure of the teeth as good as possible for ones who are prone to get cavities and have bad teeth to start. If you look at studies of floride you will see so much controversy it is applauling!

[Helen72]

Thank you all for your advice!  My daughter does not drink any juice at all, just milk and water. She does brush her teeth before last bottle though.  Perhaps I should change that.  

[mum2beagain]

My oldest had some plaque for on his teeth; our pediatric dentist said it can be quite normal, some peoples (kids also) have saliva that just has a PH level that increases plaque levels. Both our kids have very healthy teeth, never had any issues at all. He did recommend we floss their teeth though and make sure we do a good brush of the teeth too every night as kids don't always get in those hard to reach places. We bought the fun dino shaped floss sticks and once the kids got used to us flossing their teeth they were fine about it. It also helped clear all the plaque from our oldest sons teeth in no time.

[AnnieBrooke]

The other thing I am thinking -- plaque is not brown.  As far as all the photos of it I have ever seen, it's white or cream colored.  Definitely check with the dentist to see what is going on.

[tam2girls]

Another thing that can cause unhealthy baby teeth is high temperature or continual infections while the teeth are forming. According to our dentist it causes a weak enamal layer in baby teeth. My 6 year old has just had a baby tooth filled because it actully broke. It is not her dental hygeine as all other teeth are perfect. The weakening of this tooth happend when it was forming in the gums before we even thought about cleaning her teeth. Take her to the dentist for her first check and  I hope you can get some answers. Good Luck

[AnnieBrooke]

Here's a list, though it is not limited just to discoloration that is brown.  On other pages, fluorosis (too much fluoride) is named as being a cause of brown teeth, so you might google fluorosis and see if it looks like a possible culprit.

Causes in Children: Tooth discoloration

    * Alkaptonuria
    * Amelgenesis imperfecta
    * Doxycycline use
    * Periapical infection of primary teeth
    * Primary tooth trauma
    * Tooth decay
    * Tooth pulp trauma and bleeding
    * Acrylic tooth restoration
    * Fluorosis
    * Maternal infection
    * Childhood infection during enamel formation
    * Porphyria

  

[mlb1234]

Hi Helen - In  Izzy's early childhood class we have had a couple pediatric dentists talk to us.  A couple things they say is that mom and dad should be doing the brushing (even if you have to hold them down to do it!) at least once a day preferably before bed and also if you just cannot brush their teeth then wipe them with a washcloth or at the least, your finger before going to bed.  Just some ideas to help out...

[Helen72]

Thanks!  We are going to see ped dentist.  I am trying to make an appt.  

Anna is really bad at opening her mouth for anyone and it's so hard for me to brush her teeth.  I always try to help her with brushing but it's not easy.  She just hates being helped with almost anything.

[Helen72]

Just an update.  I talked to dd's pedi and took her today to a pediatric dentist.  They both said the same thing.  Her teeth are not bad but they are stained.  The good news is that the damage is from the outside, not inside her teeth.  The bad news is that her teeth are stained and don't look so pearly white any more.  Since she does not drink any juice and does not fall asleep with a bottle, her dentist thinks that staining comes from chemical composition of her saliva.  Also, since dd is a bad eater we will start giving her baby vitamins next week and that will make this staining even worth  :(

Dentist strongly recommended no fluoride toothpaste till age 3.  That's our news...