Can You Receive Root Canal Therapy during Pregnancy?

You might have time at your disposal to schedule regular dental visits for exams and cleanings in perfect scenarios. Unfortunately, if you are pregnant, you think dental appointments aren’t essential until your baby arrives. However, can you confirm that dental issues will not affect your mouth during your pregnancy term? If you don’t, we suggest you read this article to understand why you mustn’t neglect dental health during pregnancy and the consequences you might suffer from such neglect.

Pregnancy causes several dental problems making you vulnerable to infections like tooth decay and gum disease. A cavity left untreated in the mouth can soon penetrate the soft center of the tooth, the dental pulp to cause lingering tooth sensitivity besides excruciating pain in the specific tooth. The pain and sensitivity will likely take you to your dentist, who will probably recommend a root canal during your pregnancy to eliminate a severe infection in your tooth. While the recommendation for a procedure will likely cause apprehension in your mind and fear, the therapy becomes essential to ensure it doesn’t aggravate to cause you and your baby unnecessary problems.

What Does a Root Canal Procedure Entail?

Root canal procedures involve:

• Drilling a hole in your tooth to remove your infected or inflamed dental pulp.
• Cleaning the canals.
• Filling and sealing them and the tooth with a temporary filling and fixing the tooth with a dental crown.

The procedure is painful and requires to receive anesthesia and x-rays before the dentist performs root canal therapy in Summerland, BC. Therefore you must inform the specialist performing the treatment about your pregnancy to ensure they take appropriate measures for your and your baby’s safety.

What to Do Before a Root Canal?

Before accepting the dentist’s proposal to have root canal therapy to get rid of the infection in your tooth, you must discuss your situation with the dentist and inquire what you can expect when receiving this treatment. You can confer some points mentioned below to ensure you receive stress-free therapy to overcome the problem affecting you and preserve your natural tooth.

• Anesthesia: the American Dental Association has confirmed that local anesthesia doesn’t pose any risk to developing fetuses. However, if you are overly anxious about root canals, you might want more potent anesthesia, which dentists might be reluctant to prescribe. Therefore if undergoing this treatment during pregnancy, you must prepare for the treatment under local anesthesia that helps block pain impulses adequately.
• Pain Medications: Reducing pain during root canals in pregnant women as best possible is recommended by the American Pregnancy Association because the pain in the mother puts stress on the baby. While local anesthesia helps manage pain in the mother, antibiotics also become essential to inhibit the risk of infections spreading to the baby. Therefore, discussing with the dentist which medications work best for you and the baby before your root canal becomes an essential requirement.
• Dental X-Rays: Performing root canals without x-rays is impossible because dentists must determine the severity of the damage affecting your tooth. In addition, the American Association of pregnancy suggests that pregnant women avoid non-essential x-rays. However, the association concedes that updated shielding means are adequate to prevent harm to a developing fetus as recommended by the American College of radiology. Therefore letting your dentist know about your situation ensures they will take the necessary precautions to minimize your risks and the baby’s as best possible.

Root canals are not routine procedures like exams and cleanings, which you might enjoy. Receiving root canal treatment when pregnant can add stress to your situation. Thankfully modern techniques have ensured root canals are entirely painless, confirming that with proper advice from the dentist and your prenatal care provider, you need not put off the treatment that helps relieve pain and preserve your natural tooth after getting the infection out of the tooth.

Root Canals Are Not Risky for Pregnant Women

Although root canal therapy poses no risk to you or your developing baby, the timing of the treatment is essential to ensure you don’t have to endure unnecessary stress. Therefore, you must discuss with your dentist to schedule the procedure during the second or third trimester. The second trimester is more optimal than the first, considered the riskiest or the third when you might experience discomfort lying in the dentist’s chair. In addition, you will likely not suffer from gum sensitivity as you did in the first trimester, making it comfortable for you to receive the treatment and save your natural tooth by getting the dentist to eradicate the infection in the tooth.

If you are pregnant and affected by an excruciating toothache in a specific tooth needing a root canal Summerland Dental Center performs the treatment by taking adequate care of you and your baby after discussing your situation with your prenatal care provider. Scheduling your appointment with this practice helps eliminate the infection and the pain affecting you during your pregnancy. Therefore kindly arrange a meeting with them today to receive this essential treatment when suggested by the dental professionals.