Patrick

in reply to the post of young kids with cavities. I was a dental hygienist for 15 years. my son had big cavities in his baby teeth from very early on. I knew he would lose them and that pain was going to be the determining factor in dental visits. If my son was in pain I would of taken him to get the teeth filled. but i also knew the pain he would suffer to get them filled. my father in law was a dentist and gave us greif on our decision. so for many years he had some teeth half gone. but it never bothered him and they all just naturally came out. he had an early cavity on his first molar but its been 8 years and I watch it and stress for him to clean that area but again, no pain so he has never been to the dentist at age 17. the baby teeth have no relation to the primary teeth as far as strenth /durability. just try to keep the cavities clean. the basic therory is the bacteria in the mouth give off acid as a waste pruduct and this pulls away the hard tooth material. the saliva remineralizes the hard material ; so its a take away build up process. cleaning the area more oftenallows less bacterial reproduction so less waste product. the pain is usually not felt till it gets near to the center /root of the tooth that has nerve endings. even here the body will lay down more hard material in this root area if it is a gradual encroachment. so advice from me is if they are not uncomfortable forget it other than just brushing more often/ like 3-4 times a day.