11 Cavities In A 3 Year Old?

[floridanative]

Okay - some of you know that I have tried unsuccessfully to get my sister (tested neg. for Celiac) to get her children tested as well. The girl catches every virus around and is sick 1/2 the time and the boy who is three is thought to have lactose intolerance which you know Celiac imitates very well. So we were visiting the family out of town over the weekend and my husband informed me that my nephew has 11 cavities according to my sister. Does this sound abnormal to anyone or is that just the way some kids baby teeth are? He does not eat a lot of sugar and if he gets a soda it's a very rare treat - unlike most other kids I know who drink soda every day and do not have cavities. As I the aunt and my Mother (the kids blood grandmother) both have Celiac, we know it runs in the family. I have two cavities now and had a root canal last spring and just now found out I have osteopenia due to lack of calcium absorption. I'd appreciate any opinions I can get.

[CarlaB]

I have six kids and none of them had anywhere near 11 cavities by the time they were three!!!! Not normal!

[AndreaB]

If the child ate a lot of candy, sweets, pop, sugar, sugar, sugar, then I would say yes.

Also if the child never brushed their teeth I'd say maybe.

Something else is going on here (IMO)

[nikki-uk]

Sounds very similar to my friends little boy.

By the age of around 6yrs he had to have 5 teeth out as the dentist couldn't save them-in fact,it was the dentist who suggested that he wasn't absorbing calcium.

After seeing a paediatrician,he thought it was celiac disease,but bloods were negative.He was eventually diagnosed with lactose intolerance.

I've gotta say,I do actually wonder though-is he a coeliac?

My friend thinks I am a crazy coeliac spotter( !),but I know that he still has D even when he hasn't had milk,but hey I've broached the subject,and she's happy with the fact that he had neg bloods all them years ago

Have you explained to your sister that the state his teeth could be due to celiac disease?

At the end of the day,if she's adamant you're wrong about celiac disease,there's not much else you can do-although very frustrating I know.

[jerseyangel]

That sounds like an excessive amount of tooth decay for a 3 year old--especially one who eats very little sugar. Considering the family history, this added with the lactose intolerance should convince your sister to have him tested. What does she have against the testing?

[floridanative]

First of all - thank you to everyone for sharing your opinions.

Jerseyangel - you may not have read my older post about my sister's idiot pediatrician. He thinks if my sister doesn't have Celiac - her kids do not need to be tested. I've sent all the proven medical info showing that is ridiculous and told her repeatedly her kids should be tested at age five even if they have NO symptoms due to our family history. I guess she doesn't want him to have it and really the baby teeth will fall out eventually. But if he gets cavities in his permanent teeth like he has now, I don't think my sister can put off testing him for Celiac then. I just think it would be better to find out now if he has it since he could go off gluten and he'd never even remember having it.

[jerseyangel]

First of all - thank you to everyone for sharing your opinions.

Jerseyangel - you may not have read my older post about my sister's idiot pediatrician. He thinks if my sister doesn't have Celiac - her kids do not need to be tested. I've sent all the proven medical info showing that is ridiculous and told her repeatedly her kids should be tested at age five even if they have NO symptoms due to our family history. I guess she doesn't want him to have it and really the baby teeth will fall out eventually. But if he gets cavities in his permanent teeth like he has now, I don't think my sister can put off testing him for Celiac then. I just think it would be better to find out now if he has it since he could go off gluten and he'd never even remember having it.

Hi Tiffany--Yes, I missed that post. The doctor--should have known I just hate to see anyone have a delay in diagnosis. I hope that she will change her mind--it would be easier for the little boy to get off gluten now, if need be, before he gets any older. Not to mention his health and development if he does have it.

[ravenwoodglass]

First of all - thank you to everyone for sharing your opinions.

Jerseyangel - you may not have read my older post about my sister's idiot pediatrician. He thinks if my sister doesn't have Celiac - her kids do not need to be tested. I've sent all the proven medical info showing that is ridiculous and told her repeatedly her kids should be tested at age five even if they have NO symptoms due to our family history. I guess she doesn't want him to have it and really the baby teeth will fall out eventually. But if he gets cavities in his permanent teeth like he has now, I don't think my sister can put off testing him for Celiac then. I just think it would be better to find out now if he has it since he could go off gluten and he'd never even remember having it.

Please let her know that even though these are baby teeth the adult ones are also being effected. How is his growth, ask her where he was at birth and where he is now. Has he lost ground? Undiagnosed celiac in children has life long effects to their brains and bodies. It can stunt growth severely and can cause problems with learning and cognition. The longer she waits the more chance there is that the delay will cause permanent damage. I hope she not only will test but will also try the diet.

[flagbabyds]

Okay - some of you know that I have tried unsuccessfully to get my sister (tested neg. for Celiac) to get her children tested as well. The girl catches every virus around and is sick 1/2 the time and the boy who is three is thought to have lactose intolerance which you know Celiac imitates very well. So we were visiting the family out of town over the weekend and my husband informed me that my nephew has 11 cavities according to my sister. Does this sound abnormal to anyone or is that just the way some kids baby teeth are? He does not eat a lot of sugar and if he gets a soda it's a very rare treat - unlike most other kids I know who drink soda every day and do not have cavities. As I the aunt and my Mother (the kids blood grandmother) both have Celiac, we know it runs in the family. I have two cavities now and had a root canal last spring and just now found out I have osteopenia due to lack of calcium absorption. I'd appreciate any opinions I can get.

Thats weird!

I've never had a cavatie, and im 16.

You gotta love them rich silicon valley people having flourine in the h2o we drink out of the tap.

[TCA]

My son is 3 and had dentla surgery week before last for his nonexistant enamel. 7 crowns, 3 fillings, and sealants on the 2 teeth that were left. He had classic sypmtoms since birth and had a dairy allergy that he outgrew. His bloodwork was inconclusive and he had 2 neg. biopsies. Symptoms persisted, so we tried the diet and it was a miraculous turn around. After gene testing, he was given a somewhat positive diagnosis. Not on his chart, but to me because of insurance purposes. The dr. knows me well and said he didn't want to do more harm than good since he knows I"ll keep him on the diet.

Please tell these moms to try the diet even if the tests are negative. I guess that is if you can get them to do the tests in the first place!!!

My SIL needs to be tested too, but hasn't been. I think she just doesn't want to know. It's frustrating, but we can't make thier decisions for them.

[prinsessa]

I had tons of cavites my whole life (starting at a young age) and I never ate much candy and brushed my teeth all the time. I never had symptoms of gluten intolerance before a year or so ago so I don't know if that has anything to do with it (I think it does though). Hopefully your sister will get him tested. Good luck!

[gfp]

floridanative: Is this in the UK? just asking because the dental service is terrible and the way dentists get paid is by creating work.

When I was about 10 my dentist retired and someone took over the practice. I went from no cavities to him finding a new one each time, I stopped going when I was 11-12 but my mother continued and eventually ended up in a malpractice suite .. long story... and although the dental assoc defended his actions offically he was struck off for something else about a year after.,

[chrissy]

some kids just have really soft baby teeth(2 of my non-celiacs have had to have some pulpotomies on baby teeth, but with celiac in the family i would sure want to get them tested if i were your sister------is she not testing because her doc doesn't feel it is necessary, or because she just doesn't want to do it?

[floridanative]

Where my sister lives, there is not ONE doctor in the entire town who knows any current info on Celiac. My onw Celiac Mother is supposed to have a biopsy late this month when she'll have been gluten free for over three months.....at least the diet is working for her so I don't think she'll go back to gluten when he tells her she doesn't have Celiac - blookwork was positive in March.

Back to my sister's ped. He knows almost nothing of Celiac (dx'd his first patient with it recently and he's in his 40's) and told her if she doesn't have it then there's no need to test her kids. It's hard to convince people that doctors really don't know about Celiac and my sister knows I haven't been to medical school.... I've sent her all the info with all the symptoms and I just think she doesn't want her kid to have it so she'd rather not think that he could. I've been fairly abnoxious about the fact that her doc knows nothing, can't be trusted to recognize Celiac, and her kids both need to be tested. Now I have to tread lightly so I can keep a relationship with my sister. We only see each other a few times a year but I don't want those times to be strained because of the Celiac elephant in the room.