Is it a cavity?
Question:
My youngest daughter (4yrs) spat out her chocolate pudding tonight and said it hurt her tooth. I had a look in her mouth but I can't see anything wrong. She's had a couple of fillings done before and she's scared she'll need another one now. Is it always a cavity if a tooth hurts when you eat sweet stuff? Or could it be something else?
I know I need to take her to the dentist, but we're not registered with one just now and I can't find one to take us on the NHS and I can't afford to go private.
Answers:
I'm a dentist. Your daughter either has a cavity or one of the fillings previously done is having problems. She's not getting any new teeth in because those won't start coming in until age 6. Like grown up teeth, baby teeth can need root canals after having a large filling placed. The dentist did nothing wrong. When you do a large filling (which for a baby tooth doesn't have to be that big), the bur generates heat while drilling. That heat can damage the nerve despite the best efforts of the dentist, and the tooth can start hurting. This can happen immediately after the restoration is placed, months or even a year or 2 later. The good news is that a baby tooth root canal is nothing like the grown up ones. They basically numb her up again. Open up the tooth (remove the old filling), put some medicine on the nerve, and close it up again. The procedure is much easier than the ones adults go through, and nowhere near the same price range. If the problem persists, please take her soon. The problem will not get better on it's own and will probably end up with a friday night, 2AM, not very happy 4 year old. With no insurance, the limited exam, radiograph, and procedure will likely be in the $200 range. Less if you have clinics in your area that see low income or have reduced fee schedules based on income. I wouldn't recommend getting the tooth out unless there is no other option to work with. Baby teeth that are extracted prematurely need to have space maintainers placed to hold the space open. (another cost and not as good as the real tooth). without the space maintainer the teeth can become crowded and make braces a necessity when she's older. This is a lot of information but hopefully it helps.
Other Answers:
i think it is a cavity~
no probably a toothacke It could be a cavity, but you need to realize she is 4 years old. She could just have a loose tooth.
Unfortunately, it sounds like a cavity. I think sweet sensitivity is pretty much always abnormal and a sign of something wrong with the tooth, I think it's most often due to cavities.
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