Just read the following article. Another opinion for parents
concerning the cavities in their kids' mouth.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBJulAug00p134.html

"How I remember the sick feeling that washed over my whole body when I
first noticed the black spot on the back of my 15-month-old's front
teeth. Because I feared that the only way to get her teeth repaired
was to put her under general anesthesia, I found many ways to postpone
visiting the dentist. She was over two when I finally took her in,
without any noticeable increase in the decay. The dentist was able to
clean it out using a spoon, a manual instrument, instead of an
electric one, while she was lying on me. He used no medication. I
asked him what would happen if I didn't get her teeth fixed. The
result, he claimed, wouldn't affect her adult teeth, but the decay
would spread and end up causing pain.

Within a few months, her filling fell out twice, and I didn't get it
replaced the last time. The decay still hasn't spread, she has never
experienced pain, and she is now four-and-a-half.

When my third daughter was one-and-a-half, I noticed decay on two of
her teeth. This time I talked to a few parents I knew who had chosen
to not repair their children's teeth, and became more confident about
not doing anything unless she had pain or other complications, which
hasn't happened. I feel more worried about the negative physical and
emotional effects of dental work on my toddler than the pain of the
tooth decay that hasn't yet materialized.

Coincidentally, the day I read your letter, I had just returned from a
visit to my doctor, who told me that some dentists believe that some
children's baby teeth are severely decayed before they fall out
without any ill effect on the permanent ones. It was encouraging to
have a medical professional endorse leaving cavities alone. Like many
other health situations, it seems that even the experts don't agree on
the best way to handle decay in baby teeth.

Choosing to do nothing is what feels right to me. Whatever you decide,
make sure that you are not scared into it and that whatever negative
effects are predicted for your child are substantiated by independent
studies. Do what truly feels right to you, you are the expert on your
child! "

Eliane Ste-Marie Proctor
Westmont IL USA