Teeth help

[susyp]

Sorry to post another question thread so soon after my last one - but I'm having a bit of a panic about my 2 1/2 year olds teeth. There was a helpful thread on this a while ago but I can't find it. I noticed tonight that she has red marks on her gums - having not seen another child's teeth I am not sure if this is normal but I am worried it is gum disease. She doesn't eat sweets or anything like that, rarely has cake but does eat fruit. She has a small cup of orange juice at breakfast, then a banana mid morning, then fruit as pudding at lunchtime. She has special milk as dairy allergic and drinks one bottle of this in the daytime as she won't take it in a cup (smells funny). Is it possible the orange juice in the morning is doing this? I clean her teeth about 40 mins after it and she doesn';t have much normally? Or could it be the bottle?

I am thinking of rejigging things to give her a bottle first thing, (stopped this as she wouldn;t always eat her breakfast and that's so good for her - with another bottle in the cereal - she needs 2 a day) and drop the oj - as she has plenty of fruit in the day. I was giving her the oj as it is calcium added and she has no other sources of calcium - won't eat green vegs etc, can't eat soya.

sorry bit of a panicky thread but a year ago she was in too small shoes for a bit and she has slightly wonky toes - I am in total guilt about it esp now I am seeing her feet more in the summer - and I can't bear it if I've given her gum disease as well. Stupidly I have been giving her extra cartons of juice when out and about the last couple of days in this weather so not sure if it's just an immediate reaction to that.

She also has watered down squash in her beaker all day. I could possibly try and change this to water if I got her a new beaker - have noticed in groups that some children her age have quite cool beakers - she is still on one of those tommee tippee ones everyone has - can anyone recommend one that works and is easy to clean?

Any advice gratefully received.

Will sign up with a dentist first thing Monday!

Susypx

ps edited to add that I have just found the thread I was thinking about - juice and toddlers - so def going to cut out the orange juice reading it back! But it still seems odd for her to have disease when she normally only 1/3 of a cup of oj a day - is it enough . Or are 2 days of total fruit juice intake enough to cause a temporary blip - we squeezed our own this morning too so she had it twice then an innocent juice while out this afternoon. arg.

Definitely in the market for a new super cool beaker that I can say only takes water!!!

[Belle]

I would say try not to worry - the dentist will give you an answer and help either way. Don't feel guilty - all the things you're giving her are for good reasons, god I give my son cartons just to buy peace so I really wouldn't feel bad about giving her OJ for the calcium, partic given her milk/soya allergy.

One thing if you want to get her into water - I've found the bottles with the sports cap (you get specific kids ones, think they're 220 mls or so) go down really well, and now my son asks for water over juice sometimes.

[Helen GV]

i bought a bottle with a straw that pops in and out for my toddler, he likes that and will happily drink water from it. got it from sainsburys.

you might be surprised how easily she takes water, esp in this weather.

[susyp]

I;ve just seen a brand on Amazon called Sigg that has good reviews and looks cool. If anyone has tried this would be good to know views as very expensive! She goes to a class where we were given a branded beaker and is happy to drink water out of that so am thinking I could re-sell water to her in a new cool beaker (the branded one leaks all over the place so we only use it in the class!).

I also might try again to give her milk in a cup with her breakfast instead of oj. I don;t mind cutting out the innocent drinks etc and moving her bottle to first thing might help as I would clean her teeth shortly after it - just undecided on whether to cut out her morning Oj - if she has water the rest of the day - with perhaps squash with dinner (when her teeth will be cleaned shortly after it). Or perhaps I could just give her freshly squeezed Oj as a treat at weekends. Sometimes we are in a rush to get out so I do clean her teeth too quickly after the Oj. But then I have guilt about not giving her added calcium. arg. sorry to ramble...

susypx

ps thanks for saying I give her things for good reasons - my sister always says stuff like that to me - very wise - it's so easy to beat your self up as a parent isn;t it.

arg

[candj]

I seriously doubt she has gum disease. Are you brushing her teeth before bedtime and is she drinking something after that (ie, a beaker of milk), if so you could change this so that she doesn't fall asleep with something other than water. You can also try the beakers with built in straws in them as I think they are better for getting the juice past the teeth and probably also better for general alignment. Also, don't brush immediately after having juice. And no doubt you are helping her brush twice a day because at 2 1/2 you still need to be brushing her teeth as children cannot do it properly themselves until around the age of 7 (this according to my dental hygienist sister-in-law and her orthodontist husband!). It's good to take her to the dentist anyway as it gets them used to it and also good to go when there isn't anything drastic needing to be done.

Good luck.

sorry for disjointed sounding post, I'm not much of a thinker or proofreader these days!

[susyp]

Yes she is pretty good at letting us do her teeth. Doesn't drink anything before bed. Hopefully the dentist will set me straight on what to do but obv he has one point and then a dietitan would have another. But I am sure she shouldn't be having red gums. hopefully it's just a consequence of loads of sugar these last 2 days.

Sometimes I do find being a mother one long guilt trip. :-(

susypx

[Fuschia]

Maybe she has thrush?

[susyp]

oh god in her mouth? She has had red gums before my husband is obsessed as he has terrible teeth.

just looked it up. I think I have it. Had chemo a couple of years ago and not had my gums checked since which is really stupid as it is terrible on the gums. Got some white bumps.

Now it's occurred to me she could have caught it from me and be in earlier stages as we do share a lot of drinks etc when out and about.

great - guilt trip even bigger - but good call Fuschia even it it's not what she has i'm pretty sure i have it so it will give me the final push I need to get us to visit the dentist!!

Mother and daughter trip to the dentist next week I think. Need to get us both sorted.

Suspyx

[Fuschia]

Let us know what they say

[snowboarder]

Re having 'different' beakers/cups/bottles etc - we have loads and I rotate them to keep my little boy interested - he's a sucker for a new funky bottle! Current favourite are the ones you get with flip up straws - in partic this one from ocado!

He only ever has water in his cups - very sweetly he calls it his 'juice' anyway. This will not last long!

[redjam]

Blimey, Susyp, it's impossible to say this without sounding rude, but I think you need to chill out a bit. A few extra cartons of orange juice are hardly something you should be losing any sleep over. Sounds to me like you're doing your best for your kid.

[Helen GV]

easier said than done!

[susyp]

you're prob right I do need to chill out. Not been an easy few years but I am getting more chilled, slowly!! Have appointment with dentist now and my hubs doesn't see anything wrong with either of our gums so fingers crossed I'm just being neurotic mum!

susypx

[Fuschia]

I think children get decay rather than hum disease you know

And teeth damage gets repaired by saliva as long as they have decent gap between sugar attacks

Very clever!

[Saffron]

Does your toothpaste have SLS (sodium laurel sulphate)? This is a surfactant in most toothpastes. It's also an irritant for some people. Look for a toothpaste without it. You can also try an extra soft toothbrush. Sometimes acidic foods irritate the gums as well and can cause redness.

I agree with Fuschia and others, very unlikely to be gum disease, but it's a good idea to see a dentist to put your mind at ease. I really wouldn't worry about giving her some juice, esp'y if it's a source of calcium for her. I couldn't find NHS guidelines, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 4 oz per day of straight juice. If she's having a lot more than that, you can always fade out the juice slowly as she learns to eat other calcium-rich foods. :)

[Fuschia]

Juice served with a meal is best and useful alongside Iron rich foods

[susyp]

yes normally it's just OJ with cereal or eggs in the morning. I've been giving her water today in a beaker I rediscovered (and so could present as new!) and she's been quite happy with it.

Will look into the SLS thing. She is allergic to random things as well as dairy so definitely worth trying another toothpaste I think. Will discuss with dentist.

Gums are still red today but around the sides of where the roots are - like little lines down the gums (can't explain it very well) rather than all over so not sure whether it's just a kiddy thing or a problem. Relieved to have finally pushed myself to sign us up with a dentist anyway! We're going together as no other way to do it really so if they find problems with mine I hope it doesn;t put her off!!

thank you for all the advice, it really is much appredicated

susypx