According to the American Dental Association, seeing a dentist is generally considered safe and even recommended. Routine dental cleanings are important and you should see your dentist for a check-up every six months, including pregnant women. There are some cases in which you should proceed with caution and it is recommended to avoid any unnecessary treatments requiring x-rays and mouth-numbing agents.
It is especially important for pregnant women to floss. A woman who is pregnant is more prone to developing gingivitis because of an increased level of hormones in their system. Poor oral hygiene during pregnancy is linked to higher incidences of gum disease and pregnancy tumors. Pregnancy tumors occur when a piece of food becomes trapped underneath your gum causing an area of redness and swelling. As many as 10 percent of all pregnant women experience these “tumors.”
If you have an infection, you need to be seen by a dentist. The risk of letting your infection linger outweighs the potential risks of undergoing dental treatment. Studies have shown that dental infections can increase your baby’s risk of being born prematurely or at a low-birth weight.
If you need a local anesthetic such as the commonly used Lidocaine shot, know that there are no studies out there that conclude whether or not the molecules from the injection pass through the placenta at a significant level to do any damage to your developing fetus. This is why Lidocaine is assigned with a Category B warning by the Food and Drug Administration.
According to the American College of Radiology, no modern day diagnostic x-ray machines emit enough radiation to cause harm to a woman’s developing baby. If you still feel uncertain, ask your dentist you cover you with two lead vests rather than one.
If you can, do wait until the second trimester of pregnancy to get non-emergency dental work done. The ADA suggests that the ideal time to see the dentist while pregnant is in her second trimester because women studied in this category showed no adverse effects from receiving dental work for themselves or their developing fetuses. Women in the third trimester are recommended to hold off until after they deliver for non-emergency work because of the discomfort of laying in one position for too long.
I had a severe tooth infection while pregnant and was very nervous to get a root canal. However, after doing extensive (and probably too much) research about the risks and benefits, I felt much safer. I asked the x-ray technician to put two vests on me just in case.
In short, routine dental work is considered safe for pregnant women. It is advised to hold off non-emergency work ideally until the second trimester or until after the baby is born. However, emergencies such as infections need to be treated immediately as the risk of leaving them untreated far outweighs the minute risk of the dental procedure needed to fix it.
I had a root canal performed during my 19th week of pregnancy and after having done some extensive research on the topic, I felt much more at ease in the dental chair.
