I have a dentist appointment...

dobrydney · July 2013

I got my teeth cleaned early on in the pregnancy and they said I had two smallish cavities. I asked if I should get them filled or wait until after the baby, and she said that I should just get them taken care of since things have a tendency to get worse while pregnant. I don't really like the idea of taking any extra medicine (or some that I may not absolutely need) while pregnant. Has anyone had a filling done without Novocaine? My husband does it all the time and insists it isn't that bad, because the needle apparently hurts him more than just doing it without. I know my OB faxed a form to my dentist letting them know I'm pregnant with a list of approved and not approved medications applying to dentistry while pregnant, I just don't like the idea of taking something unless I need it. My dentist office is a larger corporate type one (they take our insurance) so sometimes you really have to advocate for yourself so I want to make sure I am prepared an dknow what I"m getting into!

Chargersgrl33 · July 2013

My personal opinion is if you aren't in pain to wait until you have the baby. That's what I did last time. I don't think I could have gone novocaine free, that would hurt. lol.

babymama619 · July 2013

I personally would try to put it off if it hasn't been causing you pain and they haven't gotten worse, but that's just me. In my experience this far, doctors and em dentists are pretty conservative with up preggos, so if you do go ahead I'm sure they'll do everything by the book.

fluttergirlmoonchild79 · July 2013

I've had several fillings without Novocain. As long as the cavities are small it's really not that bad. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt but they don't have to drill long - I also pierced my own ears several times and my belly button myself so I may have a higher pain tolerance. You can always try it and if it gets too bad, you can have them stop and numb you

rbtrumpet · July 2013

Chargersgrl33 said:

My personal opinion is if you aren't in pain to wait until you have the baby. That's what I did last time. I don't think I could have gone novocaine free, that would hurt. lol.

This would be my stance too. Make sure you brush and floss really well, and take care of it soon after baby comes.

Plan B would be go and take care of them now - many dental medicines, including most novocaine (without caffiene), are safe in 2nd/3rd tri.

I would NEVER get a filling done wtihout novocaine. But I have extremely sensitive teeth, and it's hurt even with novocaine. I usually need 2-3 shots even just for minor work.

Alwin · July 2013

When I fell pregnant I had a small cavity, my dentist said he only works on 2nd trimester ladies. Well I waited ( I am 23 weeks) and had an awful lot of pain the last week, when ob gave the ok and I went back to the dentist, he told me things got so bad I might have to have a root canal.

He has given antibiotic in the cavity and will see me in 4 weeks.

So my opinion is, go if ur ob says its ok, after telling my story I have heard of so many people losing their teeth! Besides dont think ur ob would say ok if it wasn't.

Good luck, nothing worse than tooth pain

Zilly13 · July 2013

I'm having a cavity filled in a month, with drugs. They are localized and don't impact the baby, and it's important to maintain dental health while pregnant. I would not suggest going without meds - likely the pain will have a greater impact on you and your stress level than having a bit of novicaine administered. My OB encouraged me to get the work done.

dobrydney · July 2013

My teeth don't hurt at all, luckily! It's already been a few months since the cleaning/consultation, so my worry is that the cavities could already be worse and then waiting another 4 months until I have the baby and fitting it into my schedule close after blah blah blah. I think I'll go to the appointment and make sure they know 100% that I'm pregnant and that they have the form from my OB's office indicating what medication they should and should not use. I'm leery on waiting also because DH has terrible teeth and I've seen him wait to get things fixed and then it's 10x worse!

SamanthaPo · July 2013

My last filling was done without Novocain. I just don't like not being able to feel my face. It wasn't a large cavity and they were super careful. It didn't hurt, but you have to be prepared for the sound and the feeling of them moving around in there!

From what PPs said you are fine whatever direction you choose to take, but I personally would get it taken care of now before it gets worse.

bholmes1968 · July 2013

I actually cracked a molar and needed a crown- the lidocaine was safe in 2nd trimester and I'm happy I had it done because there was an absess starting. My ob/gyn said it was safe at the stage I was at and that it would have been more dangerous if I get an infection for the baby. If I was not in pain I probably would not have gotten it done.

mirandaranae8 · July 2013

Novacaine isn't actually what is used in dentistry anymore, in the office I work in- it is typically lidocaine with epinepherine. We do fillings on pregnant ladies as long as they're in their second trimester and we use a different kind of local anesthetic without the epinepherine. It's safe.. I work in a dental clinic and have had 3 fillings done since I've been preggo. If the cavities are really small, you really may not even need anesthetic. You can always request to try to have them drill out the decay without and then if it starts to bother you they can get you numb.

cmwilson316 · July 2013

I noticed what I think is a cavity in a back molar and called my dentist. His policy is to wait till after I deliver to do the filling since it it not bothering me. I've seen this dentist since I was 9yrs old and this is my second pregnancy and I got a cavity with my first preg now this. Otherwise I've never had a cavity outside of pregnancy.

inlove0509 · July 2013

I too would wait until after baby comes especially if there is no pain. But I don't even trust Tylenol right now, so that's just me.

mmm50 · July 2013

I had a similar experience-- went in June for a cleaning- dentist said I had a small cavity. I had asked about waiting and he said he was worried about doing more damage by waiting. I asked my MW at my appointment the next week and she said it was fine to get it filled and Novocain was fine as well.

My dentist opted to use something not as strong as Novocain because it was a small cavity (I don't remember what it was called). It didn't work on me at all and I could feel everything. The initial drilling didn't bother me at all but at the very end he got deep enough to get to a nerve or something. He stopped drilling and gave me the option of sucking it up for 2 or 3 seconds and not getting the Novocain or he would stop and give me Novocain. I opted to let him finish and was glad I did. The few seconds of pain were worth it not to be numb half of the day.

3Dewdrops · July 2013

I've had two fillings done where the dentist has sandblasted the decay out. They were small and only on the biting surface. I have a friend who her and her family do NOT get dental shots and she has had multiple cavities drilled without a local anesthetic. She says it's not as bad as you think.

BTW. The anesthetic is local. They aspirate to make sure they are not in a blood stream because they need it to stay by the correct nerve. I wouldn't think twice about getting dental injections during pregnancy as long as they are the plain versions. (no epi)

Novocaine hasn't been used in 30(?)ish years in dentistry here so I don't know why we're still calling it that...

ETA: You DEFINITELY do NOT want to wait til dental problems hurt before getting them fixed. That means instead of a little problem where they don't have to remove much of the natural tooth structure(which is always better than the replacement) you've got a big ol' problem to fix.

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