Expert: Jeff Dalin DDS - 10/31/2006

Question
Dear Jeff
Im a 29 yr old female and im 6 weeks pregnant. I recently went for a check up at the dentist and i was told i need a filling either replaced or newly put in (cant remember)as soon as poss. i have an appointment for 2 weeks time, however im very apprehensive about it and that it may cause damage to my baby. He didnt mention any white fillings or temporary ones and said although people say it should wait, it will all be ok! he is a very good dentist, but im not sure on his judgement on this, esp that im so early on in pregnancy. Another thing is the local anesthetic injection, i take a reaction to the normal one and usually i have medication that can ease this if taken before the injection, but now im pregnant i cant take these tablets, he said he will give me one with no adreniline in it, but i have just read that this one can be dangerous for my baby also!! im so confused on what to do and what is best. Can you please give me any advice that can put my mind at rest?
thankyou very much

Maryanne Brant  

Answer
maryanne
these are all excellent questions. i would run these by your OB-Gyn. they are the ones who have total veto power over what we as dentists do. personally i wait until the second trimester to do dental work if i have the ability to wait. that means only putting this off for another 6-8 weeks. this should not be a big deal. as far as local anesthetic goes, it is not a problem to you or the baby in low doses. again, ask your ob-gyn if he/she has any preferences here. i am not sure what you take before the anesthetic. you might have to not use that medication. again, ask the OB (i sound like a broken record here). as far as filling choices go, ask for a white plastic filling. this is what you want and should be better than using metal.

so relax...it is not dangerous to have dental work done. we do this all of the time. i prefer second trimester personally. and i keep all anesthetics, etc down to a mimimum. good luck,

jeff dalin, dds