My grandson had open heart surgery at 15mths old.To cut a long story short,he has been on continuous antibiotics and steroids for numerous infections and so on.He has just turned 7.We have just been told he will have to have all his teeth taken out.Due to everything he has taken and also maybe because of the insulin mother was taking during pregnancy. Will this have any affect on his second lot of teeth and will there be any long term affect.kind regards diane

It is not clear why u have been asked to take out your grandson's teeth.. does he have any gum problem or is he having decayed teeth? Some antibiotics like tetracycline causes malformation of teeth... general debilitating conditions also can affect tooth development. Damage to the permanent tooth bud will depend on when( which age) he was on medication, what medications he had been given and all...
Don't worry much about it now. We can't do anything on this stage . Wait and see if there is any damage to permanent tooth. Let us hope that everything will be all right.. there are many treatments available now to cover up defects in development.. u can consult a dentist and take Panoromic radiograph to verify the tooth development

Diane,
Why does your grandson have to have all of his teeth removed? At 7 he should already have some adult teeth unless his development has been delayed by his health. Is it only the baby teeth they want to remove?

You want to be sure that he has all his permanent teeth. Like daya78 said a Panoramic x-ray will show the location of your grandson's adult teeth, some will be further developed than others but the dentist should be able to see how many are there and their position.

Having all of his baby teeth out at this age could cause an orthodontic nightmare. If the teeth have decay can they not be repaired with fillings? If they are badly decayed pulpotomies (root canals for baby teeth) can be done and stainless steel crowns can be placed for strength.

Baby teeth should be saved as they serve the purpose of holding the space for the adult tooth to come in.

Generally it costs less to remove the teeth but the long term effect must be taken into consideration.

A second opinion might be in order.