Hello dentists,

I’ve been taking my child to the dentist since he was 2 years old, and every appointment seemed fine until his 4-year-old X-ray. I was shocked when the dentist told me my child had six cavities and needed three crowns, while less than six months ago they said everything looked fine.

I have many questions and wanted to speak with the doctor to better understand the situation, but she wasn’t available and hasn’t called me back for two days.

I’ve attached the X-rays and the proposed treatment plan. Could someone please help me understand and answer a few questions?

1. When I received the X-rays, I immediately noticed that his X-rays look nothing like mine. Do these look like poorly taken, or do children’s X-rays normally look like this? I am not seeing much of the roots, and a lot of the teeth appear to be captured only about 50%. I can only clearly see 1 tooth that shows a noticeable shadow. My child was extremely cooperative. The clinic only took each images once and said good job to my child and moved on. I would assume they should have repeated them if the teeth were captured poorly?

2. Based on the images, does he really need three crowns and three fillings? There were a couple of dark spots that I had previously asked the doctors about, and they said they were stains six months ago. Is it difficult to distinguish stains from cavities?

3. If he gets fillings, will they actually stay in place? I’ve heard of a patient at that office losing a filling one month after the procedure, and the doctor brushed it off and said it did not need to be put back. Now there is just a big hole in that child’s tooth.

4. If crowns are needed, should we ask for white crowns instead of stainless steel ones? We don’t mind paying a few hundred dollars more, but it makes me sad to think that a 4 yo might have silver teeth for the next eight years.

I’m a first-time mom, and this is completely new to me. I really appreciate your guidance!

Please help me understand my 4 yo’s dental treatment plan