toddler's baby bottle tooth decay

[Puspita]

Hi. My 4 yrs-old son has a pretty bad 'baby bottle tooth decay'. It has affected all teeth except lower incisors and cannies. Earlier this year he was asked to get treated under GA but after my pleading, the pedodontist agreed to treat without it. he had several visits to put fillings on his molars with cavities(1 visit to fix 1 quadrant). However, this has not been very successful as he was not very cooperative. Some fillings were gone. Today, we were again recommended to fix all the problems in one go under GA. We are still against the idea of GA but it seems like we have no other choices and not much time left. The lower left molars' cavities has affected the nerve and the brownish decays on his upper incisors seem to get much bigger. My questions are: 1. what is your suggested treatment for the upper incisors? 2. is it likely that the dentist will pull out the one that has been more than half decayed? 3. what is the risk of GA? (all dentists we visited here always said it is a very safe procedure) 4. what will my son experience once he gets up from his grand tooth treatment under GA?
Thank you very much for your direction. I apologize for the long enquiry.I am anxious and uncertain about what to do next, now that the pedodontist has given his final verdict for GA. (Regards, puspita)

[MotherNJ]

Hello ,
My son is 2 years old and has a severe tooth decay.Night time baby bottle and breastfeeding can make this happen,it is so hard to believe.
My dentist suggests general anesthesia to to extract 2 teeths(Lateral Incisors )and put caps on front two (Central Incisors )
I am scared and worried.Is there any way to avoid general anesthesia and extraction.If not extracted the dentist say it could cause damage in permanent teeth.
Please suggest a worried mom how to confront this issue.

[nymom5]

I had this same problem with my daughter when she was that age,with the babybottle tooth decay.Went to the dentist,they wanted to do extensive dental work,extractions,and general anesthesia.I wouldn't let them do it.They swore that my daughter's teeth would never fall out on their own,but they did(they were baby teeth).Now that she's older we went to the dentist and they used a local anesthetic and she handled it well and there was no extensive dental work needed,just a couple of easy extractions.I have heard too many horror stories of general anesthesia used on children during dental work,and I just couldn't have it done to her.I'm not trying to scare you but,it's your child and your decision,not the dentist's.There are a million other dentists you can goto if this one doesn't respect what you want for your child's treatment and it sounds to me like you donot want the use of general anesthetic for your child.Also,my other daughter was 5 when she had a tooth extracted and they just used a local anesthetic for her,there was never the mention of general anesthetics.If you goto the right dentist that knows how to deal with children,there should be no problems.good luck =]

[pertykitty]

well there are pros and cons to doing it both ways.  going with ga there are always risks with anest.  however he will get all his treatment done and not have any memory of it.  having it done a bit at a time if he cooperates will give him treatment without the risks of going under, but could be so traumatic he never wants to go back.  myself, i would probably go with ga if it is this extensive.  this is a decision you have to make as a mom. i say do what you feel is best and wont tarnish his feelings for dental treatment the rest of his life.  always be positive about his appointments.  NEVER EVER use the word hurt, not to even say "it wont hurt" it puts it in their head and can frighten them.