I am 14 weeks pregnant and just had a dental filling fall out. I haven’t gone to the dentist since getting pregnant. I’ve heard you are supposed to avoid dental care while pregnant. Is it safe for me to go in? Should I just tough this out? The tooth is pretty sensitive and I’m worried, but don’t want to do anything that could hurt my baby.
Rose
Dear Rose,
First things first, congratulations on your new baby! That is a wonderful blessing. Second, I am sorry for the dental emergency in the middle of all this. you have enough stress on you. Third, I just wanted to say that I can already tell that you are going to be a great mother. You were willing to suffer rather than do anything that could harm your child. The good news is you do not have to suffer.
Dental Care During Pregnancy
The ideal time for dental work is in the second trimester. You’ve gotten past the dangerous, vulnerable stage of the first trimester and haven’t gotten to the uncomfortable stage of the third trimester. In this instance, you are in the perfect window for dental care. However, in the case of a dental emergency, you would need to go in no matter what stage of the pregnancy you were in. There is more danger to your baby in ignoring a dental infection, which can be passed on. It’s even been associated with low birth rate.
Your dentist will take precautions to ensure that you and your baby are perfectly safe. They should only do enough diagnostics to get to the root of the problem. Most dental x-rays these days are digital which have hardly any radiation. Even so, make sure they give you a lead covering in order to keep any and all radiation away from your baby.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.