Dental procedures while pregnant

BritMC18 · March 2016

Have any of you all had dental procedures done while pregnant? I have a few cavities that need to be filled as well as being due for my 6-month cleaning. In addition, the tooth where my root canal is has been throbbing since last week. My OB gave me clearance to have these procedures done, including x-rays for my sore tooth, but my dentist refuses to see me even for a general cleaning. I explained that I had permission from my OB to have all of these procedures done, but they are adamant they won't see me until after the baby is born in AUGUST.

I checked with friends who have had children before and several of them had cavities filled and/or general cleanings with no issues. I'm reluctant to switch dentists simply because other than this I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with my current one. Also, in our area, new patients have to wait MONTHS to get into one of the dental practices.

tinkerbell11210 · March 2016

I think it is very strange that they won't even see you for a general cleaning. The x-rays I understand. I acctually decline those when I go. I have had a crown issue recently. I had it replaced August last year and the new one broke in December (the porcelain failed) so I had it replaced agian. The second new crown broke about two weeks ago so I have to have it replaced agian! My dentist is aware that I am pregnant and has never refused to clean my teeth or complete a repair.
I am not sure about cavities to be honest as I have not encountered that issue. I am not sure if the numbing agent is pregnancy safe?

jamiesc58 · March 2016

My dentist is aware that I am pregnant and still sees/treats me. She did say that it is better to wait until you are out of the first trimester to have anything extensive done that involves the numbing but never said it could hurt the baby or anything. She doesn't do x-rays while I am pregnant but everything else still gets done.

Duffgurl · March 2016

With my 1st two pregnancies I had dental work done. You can actually read that with pregnancy it does tinker with your teeth, eyes and everything else lol. Usually your OB and dentist will want to wait to do any procedures until your 2nd trimester. Unless it's not painful they would prefer to wait till after baby is born. Good luck!

Ceventa · March 2016

That's odd because prenatal care 101 dictates that dental hygiene is very important, especially at minimum getting your teeth cleaned. I understand X -rays, but denying you even a cleaning is weird.

Curls919 · March 2016

I was supposed to have a small cavity filled a month ago and even got the approval letter from my OB to bring to the dentist. But then I had to cancel the appointment for scheduling reasons and I'm a baby and haven't rescheduled lol. To answer your question - as long as they had a letter from my OB saying it was ok by them, the dentist would have done the work.

lmtrmama · March 2016

I had a toothache and my dentist just had my ob fax over a letter. Maybe they have had issues in the past with pregnant women? I would call around to another dentist if I were you. I wouldn't want to wait too long to get something taken care of.

katie121209 · March 2016

That's ridiculous that you are having pain and they won't see you even with clearance from your OB. It's bordering on negligent. I could see them waiting on"elective work" if it could wait, but never when you are having pain. Depending on my mood If I were in this situation I might be contacting the board of dentistry to lodge a complaint.

There are often emergency dentist offices that accept walk ins, you might check into one of those regarding the painful tooth.

Mfuller76 · March 2016

That seems really odd. I just had a cleaning last week and they had no issues with me being pregnant. I had an approval letter from my OB clearing me for x-rays, but since the dentist didn't see any issues we held off. She did also mention that she frequently sees pregnant women needing to come back between visits because gingivitis and cavities are so common in pregnancy.

BritMC18 · March 2016

Glad to know I'm not the only one finding this odd. I also had heard that pregnancy tends to exacerbate dental issues - and I already have bad teeth, which my dentist knows. I finally got them to agree to a dental cleaning and a "consultation" on any further work. I've got my 20 week ultrasound tomorrow so I'm going to have my OB write a letter saying she's okay with the work I need.

bearsandbeets7 · March 2016

My dentist wouldn't see me even for a general cleaning when I was pregnant with DD1. I got approval from my OB and they still refused. I called around to other dentist and they said the same thing, maybe it's just where I'm located though.

PinkLady2015 · March 2016

Lurking from July--- but that's absolute absurdity and total nonsense. There are lots of studies coming out now that are linking bad dental hygiene with low birth weight and other complications. Pregnancy related gingivitis is also a concern due to hormones so receiving consistent dental care during pregnancy is an absolute must. I'd call around until you find a dentist that isn't a total idiot.
I had a root canal that completely failed and the tooth needed to be pulled. Dentists don't use novacaine anymore really but use lidocaine and epinephrine... Lidocaine is class B and considered safe. Epinephrine is class C so its ok to use when the benefit outweighs the risk. Here's the thing- your body would produce epinephrine anyway if a doctor came in and started doing dental work and you'd also bleed like a stuck pig, so the combination of drugs is actually the best of the situation if you do in fact need dental work done. They may try and hold off on doing dental work and give you a prescription if there's an infection. Also x rays of your mouth are safe... They will likely use a heavy shield on your chest and abdomen. But please find a dentist willing to do the work!!

jmknox · March 2016

I am a dentist and treat pregnant women all the time. The ONLy procedures I delay are sedation (oral and IV) procedures because those meds cross the placenta. Other than that all other treatment is safe. Call and ask to speak personally to the dentist. If they still don't want to treat you then you may want to look into going somewhere else. It is truly "old school" not to treat a pregnant woman.

megframe16 · March 2016

I had a tooth pulled during each of my previous pregnancies. Seriously pregnancy weakens my mouth beyond belief! They wouldn't do the laughing gas although my midwife approved it (as its not becoming a thing during birth!) but the oral surgeon I was sent to was amazing and made sure I was fully numb before he pulled! I was/am forever grateful to him for relieving my pain!

PJpeppercorn · March 2016

Find a new dentist! Your dentist obviously doesn't know anything about treating pregnant women. You can have most any dental procedures done while you are pregnant. The ideal time is during the second trimester. It sounds like you might have an infection, which is far far worse while you are pregnant than an X-ray or any shots you will need.

PJpeppercorn · March 2016

Here's a great "open letter" from an OB to the dental field. https://academicobgyn.com/2011/03/03/an-open-letter-to-the-dentists-of-the-world/

calfoxgrl2012 · March 2016

I work in dental and we highly recommend getting dental treatment in yoursecond trimester. We won't touch you in your fist but it's fine in your second. You should look for a different dentist. I'm 17 weeks and I just had a dental cleaning. Pregnancy gingivitis is very very common so try and get at least your cleaning.

BritMC18 · March 2016

Update: I got a letter from my OB at my 20 week scan yesterday cleaning me for all necessary procedures. Took it in to my dentist and they completely changed their tune. Go figure. Only issue now is since my sore tooth is a tooth I've previously had a root canal on (with metal crown) I have to go to an Endodontist - hoping it's just a minor issue.

Thanks for everyone's inputs!

parneetkur · March 2016

Being a dentist myself I think this is really absurd that they deny you a cleaning even. Pregnancy gingivitis is a real thing! We do hygiene appointments for women in even upto 3rd trimester. As far as the cavities go, if they are not emergency I would wait till after the baby but if you are in pain and there is infection in one of your teeth I would never let you ignore it because every untreated infection is potentially fatal! I would stay away from x-rays unless it's an emergency again. Remember ladies the amount of radiation from one intra oral x ray is very very minimal and with proper protective gear you should be good..

jmknox · March 2016

@parneetkur hi - five to another dentist

mooncusp22 · March 2016

Just had a cleaning and filling last week!

parneetkur · March 2016

Hi 5 to you too..

1faceinacrowd · March 2016

A friend of mine had to get an emergency root canal done when she was pregnant; tooth infections can make you very sick if they go too long without treatment, so your dentist should absolutely treat you. If he truly refuses, I'd start looking elsewhere. Most offices have a list that they can put your name on and get you in if there's a cancellation.

ashleymz · March 2016

Without a doubt find a new dentist. That's absolutely ridiculous...

From experience... I ended up with several cavities that were very, very small when I was pregnant with number 1. My father inlaw (a pharmacist) said I should ABSOLUTELY wait until I delivered to fill them. They were small so I didn't think much of it. A couple mos later I filled them after delivered and they grew big time. One turned into a major root canal that caused me pain over a year. If ANYTHING comes up this time I'm just filling it... and taking advice from a dentist about my teeth and not a pharmacist

acain20 · April 2016

At 16 weeks I was given xrays and a teeth cleaning with flouride treatment which made me nervous

charmedlifex3 · April 2016

The only thing my dentist wouldn't do was the X rays, and he said it was more because I had just had them done this summer, so no reason to.
I broke two fillings, so I had both of them redone.
My OBGYN said the second tri is the best time to get any work done, since it won't be comfy to lie on my back in the third trimester for a long period of time, and the gag reflex should have settled down. I asked my dentist if he needed a letter from my obgyn to do work, and he said nope. It may be a different story if I needed to have a tooth pulled, or something major, but basic dental work was no issue.

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