Postpartum dental problems, anyone?

devotchka81 · July 2012

Is there truth to the proverb "A tooth per child"? Apparently in my case, it may be multiple teeth!

I am so frustrated, I could scream.

A girlfriends of mine claims that this happened to her as well - I went from having zero cavities at every visit to 2 at my last visit (had to get a crown re-done and a small cavity filled) and now that whole area is hurting, it's been weeks. My dentist sent me to an endodontist thinking I probably need a root canal but he couldn't say for sure, since the xrays don't show any issues. Endodontist poked around today and since that whole side of the mouth hurts, he couldn't pinpoint which tooth is the problem so now I have to wait and see if/when it gets worse, etc.

Meanwhile, I'm still in mild-moderate pain and have to take 400mg of ibuprofen 1-3x a day (once if I am lucky). Everywhere I read says ibuprofen barely gets into milk at all, but I still HATE feeding drugs to LO, and it frustrates me so much that now I have to wait and see if this gets worse and go and get it tested again.

Apparently I had gum issues too, deep pockets, all due to the hormones in pregnancy. Good times! Next time I'm pregnant, I'm going to get 4 cleanings a year or something ridiculous like that.

Any dentist Mamas wanna weigh in?

devotchka81 · July 2012

Ha! I just found this:

https://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/astudentatmamauniversity/postpartum-body-surprise

marriedsisterofbride · July 2012

yup. I chipped 1/2 of one of my back teeth last week.

Sherry&Jeff · July 2012

Bump burp

Sherry&Jeff · July 2012

I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled the beginning of June, the other three also need to come out once I'm finished nursing. I have to get a root canal on the tooth next to the one I just had pulled because the infection from the wisdom tooth has damaged it. Once the root canal is done I will then need a crown and post on that tooth. There were also a couple of other small cavities as well. I may need o take out a second mortgage on the house!

mumegs · July 2012

Mine wasn't post partum but during pregnancy, I got a cavity in my molar and my stupid dentist told me to wait and she didn't want to do anything in the 3rd trimester. Of course the pain just got worse and worse and I ended up having to get a root canal 3 days before my due date. Luckily the endodontist didn't have an issue with me being pregnant. Then I had to go get my crown fitted a week after she was born, and when I went back to have them put it on she noticed another cavity, and I just got that filled a couple weeks ago. I hope I'm done going to the dentist for awhile, she said that same thing, oh they say a tooth for every pregnancy!

LLBangs · July 2012

Sorry about your dental issues. They say the elevated levels of progesterone is what they believe to cause a growth in bacteria, which in turn can cause perio problems during pregnancy!! I had it, the best thing you can do is brush and floss more. If it persists yu may want to get something like a sonicare. I would also suggest a mouth rinse to kill the bacteria, but a non alcohol one like breath rx. Your dentist may also want to get you on a more frequent schedule, like every four months instead of six for your cleanings. Perio disease can be a no joke, if you are getting deeper pockets you want to stop it before it continues. The deeper pockets are a sign of bone loss and once it is gone it is gone. As for the tooth ache, cold sensitivity is normal after a dental procedure. What you want to watch for is hot sensitivity. If the hot and cold sensitivity last more than a couple min then that is a sign of a dieing tooth. Watch for swelling of the gums or a pimple like spot on the gum tissue by the tooth, that is called a stoma and is where the infection is leavig the tooth at. I would suggest you take 2 Tylenol and 1 advil, the Tylenol will help with pain the advil for the immflamation. Also take a tooth pick and bite down on it and see if you can pinpoint the tooth that is giving you the issue. Sorry for the wall of text im on my phone. Im also sorry you are havin a tooth ache, they are never fun. Hopefully this helps. P.S. ask your dentist for peroxil if your gums are sensitive from the perio disease that should really help also.

devotchka81 · July 2012

wow! very helpful, thanks!!!

LLBangs:
Sorry about your dental issues. They say the elevated levels of progesterone is what they believe to cause a growth in bacteria, which in turn can cause perio problems during pregnancy!! I had it, the best thing you can do is brush and floss more. If it persists yu may want to get something like a sonicare. I would also suggest a mouth rinse to kill the bacteria, but a non alcohol one like breath rx. Your dentist may also want to get you on a more frequent schedule, like every four months instead of six for your cleanings. Perio disease can be a no joke, if you are getting deeper pockets you want to stop it before it continues. The deeper pockets are a sign of bone loss and once it is gone it is gone. As for the tooth ache, cold sensitivity is normal after a dental procedure. What you want to watch for is hot sensitivity. If the hot and cold sensitivity last more than a couple min then that is a sign of a dieing tooth. Watch for swelling of the gums or a pimple like spot on the gum tissue by the tooth, that is called a stoma and is where the infection is leavig the tooth at. I would suggest you take 2 Tylenol and 1 advil, the Tylenol will help with pain the advil for the immflamation. Also take a tooth pick and bite down on it and see if you can pinpoint the tooth that is giving you the issue. Sorry for the wall of text im on my phone. Im also sorry you are havin a tooth ache, they are never fun. Hopefully this helps. P.S. ask your dentist for peroxil if your gums are sensitive from the perio disease that should really help also.

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Postpartum dental problems, anyone?

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