Dental Xrays for 4 Year Old?

My kids have x-rays every year. This is standard best dental practice, and her sweets/soda/juice consumption is irreverent.

If you've ever flown on an airplane, you are exposed to more radiation than you get with a dental x-ray. The dentist can't see what is going on between her teeth (and below the gums with her adult teeth) any other way. It's silly to refuse.

http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/dental.htm

They put a protective covering over their body to help protect from radiation. It sounds like a valid reason that he wants to have it done. He's been seeing her for a year and a half. Its about time. Sorry Mama...

get the xray....your dentist is correct in pushing for this procedure.

Cavities between the teeth cannot be determined without the xrays. Cavities between the teeth can end up with the tooth having to be removed. AND any cavity can cause great pain.

Do you really want your child to go thru that? A simple xray is the best choice! & the exposure is minimal....you should have zero fears.

She will not lose some of her baby teeth for another 6-8 years. My son had no visible cavities and his sister has never had any at all. He passes all his physical exams... until the xrays. He has now had 4 cavities. We don't drink soda, rarely have sweets or juice, all the same things you say. But his teeth are terribly tight together, and even though we floss and use fluoride rinse, it is very difficult to clean between his teeth. We brush his teeth and use all the same products as his sister, who has never had a single cavity. All four cavities were between teeth, where they couldn't be found on physical exam, and on teeth (molars) that will be with him for years. Some kids are naturally more prone. Another friend put off the X-rays for one child, her youngest of 3. The other two had never had a single cavity. By the time they did her xrays at age 6, she had 17 cavities, and they had to pull 3 teeth.
Do the xrays. There is no good reason not to. If she has cavities, the decay can spread to neighboring teeth. Do the xrays.

ETA: by the way, if the decay is bad enough in baby teeth, it can affect the health of the adult teeth as well.

I allow the dentist to do x-rays once a year as is pretty typical I believe for children (they do x-rays on me if they see something that might be wrong or to compare to a place they saw a problem before to see if we need to move forward and actually have work done).

My son unfortuatly got my crummy teeth (we eat well, limit sweets/juice/etc, and no soda...and brush and floss like crazy, well twice and once a day) he had six cavities by the age of four/five. His sister has only had one.

But I have learned that baby teeth are just as important as permanent teeth as they lay the ground work for when the permanant ones come in...my son was close to needing a possible baby root canal if one of the cavities in his molar was too deep (they couldn't really tell on x-ray if it was fillable or too deep). I love and trust my dentist becasue he told me that on the baby teeth root canals only work/"take" 50% of the time as so we would just pull the tooth if it was damaged that badly. Then we would get a spacer put in to hold the place for the permant tooth. Less tramatic and cheaper by far than a root canal that could possibly fail and THEN pulling and a spacer.

I don't think being "pressured" for one set of xrays a year is a bad thing. I am glad my daughter got her first set of xrays early...it found a problem with her developing permanent teeth. Now we know we will need an orthadontist in the future, so we can start planning for it.

You can always call other densitis in your area and ask their office policy/procedure for how often they take x-rays.

Good luck and sorry I rambled on...hugs!!

Why in the world wouldn't she need X-rays? I wouldn't even not let the dentist do them.

I imagine if he finds cavities you'll be surprised? Shocked?

Diet has VERY VERY LITTLE to do with cavities. How thick the enamel is, genetic code, etc...is what makes the teeth have cavities. Diet does do some damage but that's mostly from fruits and other acidic foods.

I cannot imagine not having the kids teeth X-rayed at least once per year and they've been seeing Dr. Lee since they were 18 months or so.

It is just as important to make sure baby teeth are healthy as it is for adult teeth, especially the molars since most have the baby molars till they are 12-13. A non sugary diet does not guarantee no cavities either. My oldest son never had candy, never drank pop/soda, and I watched what he ate. He would have a cavity every 6 months. My youngest eats candy all the time ( I know bad mom) and has not had a single cavity in her 4 years of seeing the dentist x-rays and all.
The x-ray will also let you know a head of time whether there might be a need for braces or if there are any teeth that may be baby teeth forever. My son has a molar that will always be a baby tooth bc the adult tooth never developed underneath. Another reason why it is best to have the x-rays done to check for cavities.

yes they need x rays on their baby teeth. IF there is a cavity between their teeth where the dentist can't see it, then it could get worse and effect the adult teeth. My kids get x rays every year starting when they were around 2 or 3 years old. My kids brush twice a day and floss once a day and STILL get cavities. I would go and get the x rays done

it is recommended to have the xrays done. All of my children started having the yearly dental xrays (same as I do) starting at age 4.

Why don't you want them? What is your fear? Is it simply expense? Or is it something else? FWIW, my SD is the queen of cavities between teeth. Yes, she does eat sweets but one has to wonder how much is genetic, too. MIL had such bad teeth and poor dental care in her youth that she's had dentures since she was in her 30s. Xrays have allowed us to see some of SD's cavities before they got huge. When you have a kid sitting through fillings x 4 at $900 each, you want to avoid a repeat (kids don't always brush correctly).

Here is some information on baby teeth: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey...

They do a lot of work while the child has them.

My family has gotten xrays once a year to compare (except when I was pregnant). When the child is older, they can also help see what's going on with the new teeth and which way the wisdom teeth are trying to come in and what interventions may be necessary. SD had to have hers out. Mine came in sideways. SS has such a big mouth he has all his teeth. The dentist predicted all of it through xrays.

Yes, they need X-rays for the reason he told you. Even with a healthy diet, cavities are possible. If they expanded unchecked, it would cause more pain and more money than a few X-rays. It's preventative care.

You and I are definitely in the minority! Even though it's "less radiation than flying on an airplane" etc., etc., I've said No to x-rays in the past. My son's baby teeth have wonderful large gaps and I do not allow him to be x-rayed more than once a year. (And I think I completely skipped one year.) His dentist "strongly recommends" at each visit, but I don't give in.

On the other hand, my daughter has baby teeth like your daughter...all her teeth are very close together and tight. (It's tough to even floss her sometimes.) I allow more x-rays on her, especially because her dad (and his family) have a terrible history of cavities. (Genetics has more to do with it than anything else!)

I think "old school" Dentists who do not demand x-rays every 6 months are becoming more and more rare. Too many liabilities if cavities are missed, etc.

I'm a Dental Hygienist and at our office I won't take x-rays until they are six or unless it looks like they may have a cavity. At that time I will even have the Dentist come in take a look and have him decide if he would like an x-ray. With the bitewing x-rays they show inbetween the teeth so that is a benefit, but I agree with you. I would get a second opinion or ask him why he feels like it's so important to take them right now. Even if you decided to have them taken, she probably wouldn't tolerate them. I have so many older children and they have a hard time with them.
Good luck!!

As a dental hygiene student, I think I know more than most on this subject. the radiographs are not only to check for cavities, but also to check for the developing teeth beneath the primary teeth. to check the alignment, the bone structure, as well as to check for cavities. An undetected interproximal (between the teeth) cavity could not only destroy the tooth it is in, but also the tooth next to it, leading to VERY costly crowns. At our school clinic we daily take radiographs on 4 year olds, it's no biggie, tiny amounts of radiation, akin to spend an hour in the sun. current recommendations, from the ADA, which we follow are pedo bitewings once a year. If you are worrying about the cost you could find a clinic like ours, we charge $15 per semester, no matter how many times you come, and that includes cleanings, x rays, sealants, fluorides and way more!

Xrays can detect what the Dr can't as well as give the Dr an idea of how her permanent teeth are preparing to come in and why.

Personally, I would not find a new Dr over it. If you are that paranoid, just continue to say no thank you and don't be upset if in the future, something pops up that possibly could have been detected a lot earlier.

I agree that is is very hard to get xrays because of the way the hygenist has to put the bitewing in, etc.

Every child is different. My daughter lost her first tooth at an early 4 yrs old and by 10 she had lost everything she was supposed to plus had her 12 yr molars. She's never had a cavity and her teeth are aligned such that she has never needed orthodontic work. At 18, we are x-raying later this month to evaluate wisdom teeth. My job as a parent is to take care of her health and safety and I personally feel like there is too much paranoia due to media hype about routine procedures at medical facillities.

Bottom line, it is not like you are getting xrays daily at a dentist office. You get more radiation just walking around in your daily routine, it is just not hyped up in the media.

Good luck whatever you choose.

Yes, baby teeth are just as important as permanent teeth....and the amount of radiation from what I understand is minimal and better than having cavities or absesses (yes, absesses---and that gets icky)...it's OK to have an xray at 4....Good luck

It's standard procedure to have X-rays done. My son and daughter had them first done when they were both three. It gave us peace of mind with her, and for him, we did find out that he had one cavity, but since it was on a baby tooth, not causing him pain, and not deep, they did not fill it. It was just nice to know so that we could monitor it better.

My son got his first xrays at that age. It's not a big deal at all and I don't think you need to worry about it. Cavities or dental decay in baby teeth is a huge predictor for cavities, decay and other problems in adult teeth. If she does have any problems now, you'll want to catch it before it increases her risk of future damage. I used to think that baby teeth didn't matter either, but it's actually quite important to keep them healthy in order to have healthy adult teeth for life.

I once had an adult tooth grow in with a cavity on it. It just happened and the dentist didn't know why. You never know what's lurking even when you think everything is fine. Do the x-ray.

My son had xray's when he was 3 not just for the cavity concern, but also to be sure his teeth were growing in correctly and his adult teeth could also be seen below, giving an idea of what was to come. My son has been going to our dentist for 2 years and has only had xrays once so I don't know what people mean about having them every 6 months? Even my own personal dentist doesn't ask for xray's that often.

My understanding of having baby teeth checked for cavities is that if there is an issue, that if it isn't treated, it can spread into the adult teeth before they are even visible. I think doing it once to have peace of mind makes sense, but I definitely wouldn't be pressured into doing it all the time. I think that if I didn't do it and found out something was actually wrong that couldn't be seen with the naked eye that I would feel guilty.

BTW my son had no problem having the xrays done, he thought it was fun and was not traumatized or upset in any way. It was also nice to be able to prepare him for the future when he'll have xray's again so he's not upset about it.

My son had x rays at seven because he still hadn't lost a tooth and we wanted to make sure he had his big teeth. my youger child, now six, has never had x rays and our pediatric dentist has never required them or suggested them.

I'd find a new dentist.

She's at the correct age. I find that xrays start around 5 and will take place once a year (unless there is something they spot in 6 months at her next cleaning).

I'm pretty sure my boys also had x-rays done at that age. Never write off baby teeth as being unimprtant. What happens to baby teeth can affect the development of her adult teeth. She may not have sweets, but do you floss daily? (I don't know a lot of parents that do floss their kids teeth daily, myself included.) Because we had the x-rays we were able to find problems with the adult teeth that were coming in behind the baby teeth, and plan what to do about that.

x-rays = cancer risk to your child and = $'s to your dentist. NPR did a story where a researcher talked about how hard dental x-rays are hard to read anyway - they said about 50% of the time dentists fill filings that aren't there -
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1303...

I let them do x-rays every 2 years or so on my girls. My husband and I are in our 40's and have never had a cavity. My girls are 10 and 14 and have not had any dental issues either. I have read about a link to Thyroid cancer from dental x-rays. I just don't believe they are as safe as they say. (When my mom was a child she used to X-ray her feet at the local shoe store for fun on weekends...they just didn't know any better)

I would agree to one xray for the area of concern. That is what we did for my daughter when she had a concern. I think to much at once is never good.

I just spent a bit of time researching this b/c my husband was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. Our family dentist recommends seeing children for the first time between 2 and 3 and first xrays after the 6 yr molars come in, all assuming you are taking care of your child's teeth and there are no obvious problems. My oldest at 6 1/2 is cutting her bottom two molars right now and at last week's visit the dentist didn't mention xrays. Like your child, my kids have great exams with no issues. The research I saw said first dental exams and xrays for children are dependant upon the dentist, parent, and condition of child's teeth. The benefit of the info gained from the xray CAN outwiegh the risk.
THis is the AAPD recommendation, but it doesn't specify an age:
http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/E_Radiograp...

As far as going to a new dentist, you could easily find one (probably NOT a pediatric one) who would not be recommending xrays right now. You could also just continue to decline at your current dentist. You could take all of your research and concerns and come up with a plan for xrays WITH your dentist that you both are comfortable with. The dentist probably doesn't want to lose a customer over the timing of xrays in a situation with a healthy child. Good Luck.

Hi, J.:
Find a new dentist.
X-Rays are so expensive.
You don't need a full mouth ex-ray.

4 year old! Yipes!

Good luck.
D.