My 18 month old daughter has black teeth. All along the gumlines, both upper and lower. A dentist here said ‘it happens’ and that was all I heard. Any more info on the matter?
-Tcat
Antibiotics?
Get a second opinion if you can.
Stop feeding her so much crap.
Do you let her fall asleep with a bottle? The lactice acid in milk can cause babies teeth to do this…IIRC
I’ll second a second opinion…
Were you sick during your pregnancy? There are a variety of factors that can cause pitting and/or discoloration in the tooth “seed” formation while in-utero.
I’d find another dentist, if you aren’t happy with that answer. Hopefully, your daughter is in good health now, and when her “Permanant” teeth come in, the discoloration will be gone. Make sure you are using proper fluridation (sp?) techniques to help that process along.
Lack of (or too much) fluoride? Tetracycline? Not brushing?
More likely a natural variation in enamel pigment.
See these.
http://familyfun.go.com/raisingkids/child/health/childhealth/dony89enc_too2/
When I was about 7 years old, I had tonsillitis and the doctor gave me antibiotics for it that turned my teeth and tongue black. He immediately switched me to another. Thankfully the black stuff came right off when I brushed my teeth!
This article seems to think it could be because of too much iron in her diet.
And yeah ask her ped. and find another dentist.
Twiddle
As mentioned by Dr_Paprika, too much flouride can cause black teeth. (In that case, the black color is not indicative of decay.)
In fact, I believe that’s how they discovered that flouride prevents tooth decay in the first place. There was a place in the western US (in Colorado, maybe?) where there was a lot of flouride occurring naturally in the water. Dentists noticed that area residents had darkened teeth, but no cavities! Flouride was determined to be the cause of both phenomena, and by adjusting the flouride levels downward, they found they were able to achieve the cavity protection without the discoloration.
I’d also suggest a second opinion. I can name many conditions that could cause it (many already alluded to), but “It happens” is not an acceptable answer. I’m no dentist, but the mouth is part of the normal physical exam, and I’d never dismiss it (or even wait for a parent to ask about it), I’d notice it myself and start asking questions about histiry, environment, feeding practices, medications, etc.
Sometimes the precise cause can’t be determined, but IMHO it rarely ‘just happens’. Babies can have quite severe caries, which is IMHO the most likely diagnosis for blackening along the gumline, expecially if you can feel a difference in texture. I can think of a surprising number of toddlers who ‘suddenly’ needed serious dental work or surgery between 20-24 mos. I don’t know why - the onset didn’t seem sudden to me. Perhaps it’s some dental treatment guideline.
Does it look like this?
http://www.tnpc.com/parentalk/infancy/infant16.html
One more parental vote here for “it happens” not being an acceptable answer from a supposed health care professional. Find another dentist.
She is breastfed, only used a bottle twice in her life.
She has never had antibiotics in her life, she has only been sick once (although it has now been a lingering cough for close to 3 months).
It looks like black spray paint right along the gumline on the front top and bottom teeth, but not the molars.
It is strange I tell ya!
Oh, we also only use Brita or bottled water.
-Tcat
Bottled water would presumably mean you don’t get flouride from the water. Unless you are dosing the child with flouride intentionally and overdoing it, or unknowingly (from swallowing toothpaste, for instance - very unlikely in a child this age), I don’t think it could be flouride coloring the teeth. It certainly sounds like decay starting at the gumline. See a different dentist, and make sure they tell you specifically that it is NOT decay.
When you say that a dentist said “it happens”, was this a dentist who SAW her, or was this someone on TV, or was this someone you talked to on the phone, or was this conversation at a party?
For cryin’ out loud, call your dentist or your pediatrician for an appointment so they can look at the baby and see what it is and tell you. It could be any one of dozens of things, some of them potentially seious, and you should CALL A DOCTOR to have it looked at.
Sheeeeeeeeeeesh. Well-meaning advice online is potentially dangerously wrong.
FWIW, this sounds exactly like what happened to my brother. The medical opinion about his situation was essentially, “it’s not decay” and “it happens.” His teeth were discolored, but did not erode away into stumps at all. His permanent teeth came in fine. He was also breastfed.
Getting a second opinion from a dental/ped visit sounds like a good idea. But if they rule out the potentially serious causes, it may wind up being an unexplained, benign condition.
I’m with CK Dexter Haven.
Dentist: “It happens.”
You: “What the f–k do you mean ‘it happens’? What the hell is it!?”