Is it safe to do dental care while pregnant?
Pregnancy and dental care are common questions mostly asked by pregnant women. Preventive dental checkups during pregnancy are not only safe but highly recommended by experts. Rising hormone levels during pregnancy cause your gums to swell, bleed, and trap food causing irritation to your gums. The question arises do we have to go for dental care during pregnancy or is it safe to do dental care while pregnant?.
Preventive Dental Care during Pregnancy:
Preventive dental care during pregnancy is very important to avoid oral infections such as gum disease, which has been linked to premature birth. Pregnant women are prone to gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). If gingivitis is not treated, it can lead to more serious (periodontal) gum disease, even tooth loss. Bacteria from a tooth infection can also spread throughout your bloodstream and cause infectious diseases elsewhere and even affect the fetus. Maintaining good oral health reduces the risk of health problems for you and your baby.
Kind of treatments can be done during pregnancy:
In general, the following types of treatments can be performed in each trimester of pregnancy:
- Trimester 1: improving oral hygiene, cleaning tartar, and emergency measures.
- Trimester 2: tartar cleaning and pocket curettage, fillings, root canal treatment, and tooth extraction (with special requirements).
- Trimester 3: All dental procedures should be postponed 3 weeks before delivery, except for emergencies. Any dental treatment that requires local anesthesia must be approved by the attending obstetrician.
Emergency dental treatment in question, such as root canal treatment or tooth extraction. However, elective treatments, such as teeth whitening and other cosmetic procedures, should be postponed until after delivery. Avoiding this dental treatment while pregnant exposes the developing baby to any, even minimal, risks.
Currently, the conclusions of existing studies are conflicting about the possible side effects in the developing baby from medications used during dental treatment. Lidocaine is the most commonly used anesthetic for dental treatment. Because lidocaine (Category B) crosses the placenta after administration.
If dental work is required, the amount of anesthetic administered should be as minimal as possible, but still sufficient to make you comfortable. If you experience pain, ask for additional anesthesia. When you are comfortable, the amount of stress on you and the baby is reduced. The more comfortable you are, the easier the anesthetic will work.
Routine X-rays, usually done at annual visits, can usually be postponed until after delivery. X-rays are required in the majority of dental procedures, especially emergencies. According to the American College of Radiology, there is no single diagnostic x-ray that has a radiation dose significant enough to cause adverse effects in the developing embryo or fetus.
According to the ADA (American Dental Association) and ACOG, dental X-rays during your pregnancy are considered safe with appropriate protection (usually a lead apron).
You can go for dental treatment anytime while you are pregnant. However, the best time recommended for performing elective dental treatment during pregnancy is in the second trimester, weeks 14 through 20.
source: Mayoclinic
Dental care while pregnant often requires antibiotics to prevent or treat the infection. Antibiotics such as penicillin, amoxicillin, and clindamycin, which are labeled category B for safety in pregnancy, maybe prescribed after your procedure.
Daily dental care while pregnant:
During pregnancy, you should brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day (morning and night) and floss once a day. You should also visit your dentist’s office to remove hardened dental deposits (tartar), which cannot be removed by regular cleaning.
Hopefully, this article helps and can be used as your reference in caring for your teeth during pregnancy (cl).
