Check out some similar questions!

zanlea · Feb 5, 2008, 02:14 PM

My 7 hear old daughter has 4 moulers that need caps, was also suggested by her dentist to have them pulled by an oral surgeon. The permanent moulers won't come out until she's 11; therefore, she will need a retainer and orthodontic maintenance. What should I do? Spend money to have them capped or get them pulled and do the ortho?

jillianleab · Feb 5, 2008, 04:20 PM

Why does the dentist want to pull them out? Does she have severe decay? Are they causing her pain? If the teeth are reasonably healthy there should be no reason to extract them; you might want to consult with a second dentist.

zanlea · Feb 5, 2008, 04:48 PM

Yes, 2 on one side are severely decayed and are infected right now, she's on antibiotics. The two on the other side are decayed and the dentist says cannot just be filled that would need caps. So they gave me the option to cap 4 baby moulers or extract.

jillianleab · Feb 6, 2008, 10:52 AM

In my non-professional opinion, since she's experiencing this much decay at such a young age, it would probably be best to have them extracted. Now is the time to have her really focus on oral health so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Having orthodontic appliances and reminding her that in the future she can have a big, healthy beautiful movie-star smile might encourage her to take better care of her teeth.

If, however, you are still uncomfortable with the treatment plan, consider getting a second opinion. Some dentists are extraction-happy, yours might be one of them.