Whenever I take my daughter to the dentist for a check-up, there is a softball-sized pit in my stomach as I wait to hear if she has cavities. We don’t brush enough. I know this. There are some nights when I do not have the strength to argue with her about the importance of oral hygiene. I just want to get her into bed so I can rewatch Bridgerton before season 3 drops, you know?

And while I carry that guilt when it comes to her teeth and properly brushing, a pediatric dentist is going viral for encouraging parents like myself to let that s**t go.

“This is a message for every parent who has been shamed for their kids having cavities,” Dr. Amrita Sandhu began. “Here’s a video of me, a dentist, doing fillings on my own child.”

“I, of course, know how to brush and floss and do all the protective things that we need to do to prevent cavities, but guess what? They still happen. I’m sorry you were shamed and made to feel like a bad parent. We’re all trying our best to keep our little ones happy and healthy, and as we all know, it is such a busy life to live.”

She then apologizes to any parent who was made to feel lesser or inadequate when their kid ends up needing some fillings.

“Education and awareness is important of course, but being made out to feel like a horrible parent is definitely not. I’m sorry if this has happened to you,” she said.

She continued in the caption, “It breaks my heart when parents come to me with this shame, let’s work together versus bringing people down.”

Dr. Sandhu doesn’t want any parent to feel shame for their kids’ teeth not being perfect and showing her own kids with cavities seemed to do the trick to help many release some of that burden.

“Now this is the video we needed 🥰🥰 it happens and we have benefits and great dentists to take them too,” one user wrote.

A fellow dentist chimed in and said, “Dental hygienist here!! My daughter has cavities 😬 we are not perfect!”

One mom wrote, “I don’t understand why 😭 I brush his teeth for 2 mins (timed) AM&PM, then he brushes for fun after. He’s NEVER had juice or sweets or anything — he adores raw veggies & is so healthy 😭 he’s 2…”

One user responded, “Genetics also can play a huge role! I’m very cavity prone and that’s okay!”

According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), among children aged 6 to 8 years, over 52% have had a cavity in their baby teeth. Also, children from low-income families are twice as likely to have untreated cavities as higher-income children.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 19, more than half have had a cavity in their permanent teeth. And it’s not just kids, among adults aged 20 and older, about 90% have had at least one cavity. It’s so common, so stop the self-shaming!