Kids and cavities

Hi, all --

Chris has awful teeth -- six cavities at his last checkup in May. I had
always figured that cavities in baby teeth would just be watched, but
his dentist said that all six had to be filled. So, to those of you
with kids with cavities, does your dentist ever just take a "watchful
waiting" approach? Chris has already had all six teeth filled, but I'm
wondering for future reference.

Next question: one of his back teeth (not the two year molar, but the
next one toward the front -- "B" for anyone who knows the mouth diagram)
was filled and then abscessed. The dentist says that tooth needs to be
extracted, and we have an appointment scheduled for two weeks from now
for this, but I keep wondering whether this is something that a root
canal might fix?

I know zilch about dentistry, and feel like I'm pretty much at the mercy
of the dentist. Anyone out there have any words of wisdom?

Julie
Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97