Is it safe to have a tooth removed at almost 38 weeks pregnant?

Question

At 12 weeks pregnant I began to have pain in my wisdom tooth but the dentist said he couldnt remove it because he couldnt x-ray the tooth. Instead I was given enthromycin to take ( i am allergic to penicillin).

I didnt always remember to take it on time but when I did remember, I took it. The pain seemed to subside for some months so I assumed the medication had done its job despite that I took it erratically.

Now I am almost 38 weeks pregnant and the pain has returned worse than ever! I am currently on about 4 paracetemol a day - the paracetemol works, but I just wonder whether its just better to get the tooth removed altogether now.

Are x-rays safe at this later stage fo pregnancy, or is it still dangerous? And in general is it safe to have the tooth yanked out at this late stage?

Answer 1

OMG!,i had my wisdom teeth out while preggers and i was fine and my little girl!!..ignore the idiots on here please?

Answer 2

Dental x-rays do not exposure your unborn baby to any measurable dose of radiation. X-rays do not fly all willy nilly around the room. They are highly directed beams of radiation, which only exposure the area of interest.

The following is from a website which has questions answered by qualified medical personel who are experts in radiation and it's effects. Here is what I found:

"QUESTION: I am pregnant, in the sixth month. I have deep caries in several places in my teeth so I went to my dentist. After three dental x rays and a local anesthesia he did a root canal. Now there is no pain. The problem is that the assistant did not give me an apron during the x ray. I am very stressed and wonder whether to terminate my pregnancy. What is the risk?
ANSWER: The level of exposure from scatter x rays from dental x rays is too low to harm the embryo or fetus at any stage of pregnancy."

http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q2118.html

"QUESTION: I am 32 weeks pregnant and have had about 10 dental x-ray exposures since week 24 of pregnancy. Does this represent any risk for the baby? Is there a limit of exposures during pregnancy?
AThis is a good question and one that often comes up for a mother but rarely gets asked. I think you’ll be glad to know there is no cause for concern. Dental x rays, as with most x rays, are taken with the machine focused right on the area where the x rays need to go. Because of this there is virtually no exposure to anything other than the item of interest (in this case, a tooth or teeth). While dental x rays would not expose your baby, there could be exposure of the baby if you had
abdominal or pelvic x rays. In case you’re interested, after week 20 the baby is fairly insensitive to radiation exposure—relative to the first 12 weeks of gestation. So, there are two things working in your favor!"

http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q360.html

"QUESTION: I had a dental x ray while I was pregnant. I am worried that my unborn child might have been exposed to the radiation. Can you please tell me if there are any risks to my baby from this?
ANSWER: There is no information suggesting any risk to an unborn child from dental x rays received by the mother. When a pregnant patient undergoes a complete dental x-ray examination, the radiation dose to the fetus is insignificant. And, by the way, it does not matter whether a lead apron was used or not."

http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/dentalpatientissuesq&a.html

Also, your baby will be born very soon. So, any radiation to your uterus is about the same as x-raying a newborn baby. We x-ray newborns all of the time! Best wishes, and feel better soon!

Answer 3

The reason for doing an x ray is to see if the wisdom tooth is impacted or not. If you have an impacted wisdom tooth they normally give you a general anaesthetic and remove it, which would not be an option in your case. So even if you decide to have the xray ( I had to have three of them at seven months pregnant as I fractured my wrist badly) they might not be able to help you until after the baby is born.My baby was fine but I did not take any of the pain killers that they gave me but used homoeopathic remedies instead.

Answer 4

Oh no do not get a wisdom tooth removed yet. Wait until you have the baby. Really, I had one that was absessed removed and got a dry socket that caused me so much pain I had a pin stroke and lost feeling in one side of my mouth almost a year ago now, and it's almost back, but I can't feel my tongue and bite it a lot. Wait until the baby is born. It could be any day now. I can't imagine having gone through that 9 months pregnant. Not to scare you, my case was rare, but they are very painful.

Answer 5

no its not safe for an xray as for the tooth you wouldnt be able to take any pain meds or have and novcain or laughing gas. And if its abcessed and infected and you get it pulled it can cause serious health risks to you and your baby. my advice tell your obgyn whats going on and ask him/her to induce you. then you can get the tooth pulled.

Answer 6

I had one removed at about 30 weeks... I just had to, it hurt way too bad...they can use local anesthesia (sp?) and it works quite well... if you really need it, and can't handle the pain... it should be fine... and if not, the dentist won't do it... :)

Answer 7

No. Do wait for the delivery to be complete. the dentist will not take any action now and may ask you to come back to him 5 weeks after delivery

Answer 8

NO U CANT REMOVE THE TOOTH AT THIS STAGE OF UR PREGNANCY COZ U NOT ONLY NEED X.RAY BUT ALSO LOCAL ANESTHESIA WHICH IS NOT SAFE.FOR X.RAYS THERE IS SOLUTION.DOC CAN USE LEAD SHEET ON UR BODY TO PREOTECT UR BABY .BEST TIME FOR UR DENTIST VISIT WAS UR SECOND TRIMESTER.NOT JUST WAIT TILL BABY COMES.GOODLUCK:)

Answer 9

Ask your dentist.