My son is nine years-old and has a baby tooth with a cavity in it. The dentist wants to fill the cavity but my son is going to lose the tooth soon. I don’t think it’s necessary to fill it other than the dentist wanting to make some money. What is your opinion?
– Amanda from Oklahoma
Dear Amanda,
There are many considerations with your inquiry. If your son’s tooth is one of the eight teeth in the front, it probably does not need to be filled. You’re right when you consider your son will lose the tooth soon and the adult tooth will come in.
If your son’s tooth is in the back of his mouth, there are many reasons to fill it. If it’s a baby tooth, he’ll keep it for at least three more years. Most baby teeth remain in the mouth until the child is at least twelve years-old. Sometimes, adults have baby teeth because no permanent teeth formed underneath.
If you’re unsure about the direction to take, an X-ray will give you more information. It’s still recommended to have your son’s baby tooth filled to save this tooth and hold space for adult teeth to grow in correctly.
If the tooth isn’t filled, it continues to decay – eventually creating a toothache and then it has to be pulled. This is very traumatic for a child and should be avoided if at all possible. If the tooth is pulled, your son would need a space maintainer placed where the tooth was pulled to maintain the space for a new, adult tooth to erupt. If a tooth comes out too soon and nothing is put in this place, surrounding teeth move into the open space and block the eruption of the adult tooth below.
One more thing to consider is that if this is your son’s last baby tooth, it’s most likely his six-year molar and since this is a permanent tooth, it would need a filling.
This blog is sponsored by Region Dental.