Dental surgery while pregnant?

Question

Last night, out of NOWHERE, the right side of my jaw started hurting really bad. I thought I had a toothache. So I looked in the mirror and what do you know- I have a wisdom tooth coming in... and there's not enough room for it to come in.

So now it hurts to eat and my inner ear is starting to hurt from all the pressure the tooth is causing.

Does anyone know if you can have your wisdom teeth pulled when pregnant? Or am I going to have to endure this way for 4 more months? I plan to call the doctor but wanted to throw this question out there to see if anyone shares this experience.

JoyRenee · Answer

The pain is actually GONE. Completely. The other day it was so bad I just wanted to rip my tooth out. It is PARTIALLY impacted (has broken through half of the gum, so half is still covered in gum). Both teeth on the left side of my mouth are completely impacted and have never really seemed to want to come out. 

But the top, right is completely out (has plenty of room, too). It's the bottom, right tooth trying to come in now. I think it's weird that only ONE SIDE of my mouth is cutting wisdom teeth?! It's not even the side I eat on.

I'm going to see a dentist and talk to my OB about it. If the pain stays away then I'll wait until after giving birth. I HATE taking medication while pregnant. I once slit my thumb clear open when pregnant with Abigail and didn't take any pain medication other than the stuff they use to numb it while sewing it back together and then some regular old Tylenol once I was home.

Kimberlee_20 · Answer

Joy - The same exact thing happened to me when I found out I was pregnant. And it turns out the EXTREME pain I was having was because teeth are so much more sensitive in pregnancy than when not pregnant. The pain wouldn't have been as bad as it was if I wasn't pregnant. My doctor said NO on getting it out because they give you a novicane injection and it can cause problems for the baby, only general pain medications are allowable by dentists. It's true that infections can occur with teeth complications and cause preterm labor, so my doctor gave me an antibiotic to take care of the infection until after my baby is born. I'm 37W pregnant and I STILL haven't had it out yet because I can't until after he is born, anytime I get pain in my teeth I have to get more antibiotics to prevent preterm labor. Also, they might have you get more x-rays done on your teeth during your pregnancy to make sure the infection isn't coming back and cause preterm labor for you. The antibiotic also gets rid of a LOT of the pain of the wisdom teeth coming in.

LauraB78 · Answer

Hi lady, 

Impacted is when the wisdom teeth have yet to break through the gums (and sometimes they never do/will for some people, they just cause pain), thus meaning you have to have more than just a local anestheic to have them removed, this is where there can be a problem for expectant Mommies. 

PM me if you have any other questions that I may be aboe to help you with. Are you feeling any better today?

leighanne143 · Answer

yes you can.  best time is during the 2nd trimester.  just talk with your doctor about it.

LosingMyMindInGA · Answer

I had a wisdom tooth pulled when i was 8 months pregnant....they used the local anasthetic (novacaine) and gave me tylenol 3 for the after pain....no complications no problems...

pinkbelle · Answer

impacted means when the tooth is stuck or something is in the way of the tooth... impacted teeth are very hard to get out ..

daisymomlove · Answer

Id imagine that they could do it.  You just couldn't be put to sleep.  But the meds afterwards probably won't work that good because they have to give you a safe brand and amount.  I had all four of mine cut out when my first daughter was about 6or 7months old.  My best friend only had two done and said it was so painful and it took her a year to get the other two done.  My dentist tried to get me to only get two done at a time.  I said no because I know I won't come back,  so I just got put to sleep and had all four done.  Everyone is different.  But me I think that getting them out was worse then givein birth.  I was in way more pain.  And to top it all off I couldn't even take the vicodine that they gave me.  I think that I was allergic to the codine.  I would puke everytime and couldn't keep anything down.  Honestly if I could go back I'd live off of takeing excedrine everyday then getting that done.  Good luck and let us know what the doctors say.  By the way when and if you do get them done make sure you go someone to help with the kids.  When I had mine done I couldn't even take care of Daisy.  Not even change her diaper laying down.  That was probably because I was so sick too.

martikadragoon · Answer

Joy~ I know you asked LauraB but I didn't see a reply and it was 6 hrs ago. I think it's where the teeth are squished together putting pressure on the ones around it and I believe pushing them out of alignment.

JoyRenee · Answer

LauraB- what does impacted mean? 

The pain is gone now but there's still pressure so maybe it was just inflamed? I have no idea but definitely bring it up at my next appointment. I don't currently have a dentist so I need to find one in the meantime anyway.

I figure taking pain medication for one week after surgery is a lot better than choking down Tylenol for the next 4 months.

LauraB78 · Answer

I was an oral surgery/dental assistant for years, and it wasn't at all uncommon to remove wisdom teeth from pregnant women if they weren't impacted. Good luck sweetie. I know how uncomfortable that is! Keep us posted.

chantal21 · Answer

I may have to get one of my wisdom teeth out after baby is born (it's extremely crooked and is affecting my bite again) but my dentist wants to wait until afterward because of the risk and pain meds and whatnot. Unless it's an emergency, they want me to wait. But if it is causing severe pain, it may be better to get it taken care of now...personally I would wait, but I would see what your doc says about it. I've had 3 teeth pulled, and 2 of them I developed a dry socket. Not fun at all! No blood was getting to the wound to heal it and it hurt worse than when I got the tooth pulled. They had to pack it with gauze and medicine and a few days later was getting back to normal. I hope you start feeling better soon!!

aly79 · Answer

i had the same situation i had a wisdom tooth coming in(different pregnant) (why it waits till pregnancy i dont know) and my dr and dentist told me to endure the pain they dont recommend tooth removal durring any part of the pregnancy unless emergency situation but do call your doc and ob just to check good luck

Gerry774 · Answer

I left out that when I was prescribed the pain medicine I was not pregnant at the time.  Then I had another wisdom tooth that needed to be removed when I was pregnant.  Wanted to clear that up for any confusion

Gerry774 · Answer

I would defintely wait until after you give birth, because you will defintely have to take pain medication for the pain. I was prescribed Vicodin for the pain and I was still in pain. I had all mine removed so I know what the pain is like, and if the tooth is impacted it can feel worse. Also, keep in mind that they also need to put you on antibiotics for a week to prevent an infection, so defintely try to deal with the pain a little more. I was in alot of pain with my wisdom tooth with my second daughter and I was 16 weeks pregnant, and the dentist told me to wait. Just rinse with warm water and salt, and if the pain gets worse just take Tylenol. The best part is that you don't have that much longer to go. Hope this helps.

amy0013 · Answer

They were going to put me under general anesthesia to remove a dermoid cyst in my 2nd trimester...so I don't know why being put under for teeth would be any different?  My doctor said he doesn't like subjecting 1st trimester babies to anesthesia, but 2nd and 3rd trimester is OK.  Good luck!

worriedbabe · Answer

you poor thing! I'd do what you're doing...check with your dr or ob. i've lost a crown and chipped another ( ex knocked my teeth out ) but because it's not causing me any pain and is just cosmetic, i'm leaving it until i've had the baby. BUT, if i was in pain, i'd definitely check out whether it was safe to have surgery or not.

martikadragoon · Answer

Joy~ There's more risk to keeping them in (chronic pain...stress...etc) than getting them out. You can get the numbing meds without the Epinephrine (sp?) in them, and you would be OK to take pain meds for a few days. The pain medication they'd give you would be safer than Ibuprofen which can cause heart defects in 3rd trimester.

Since your out of your first trimester it would be relatively safe. Go in to your orthadontist (or whoever decides to take them out) as well as see your OB to get a written OK for surgery and you can get it taken out.

nickieb85 · Answer

I was told that I would need to have them out before pregnancy, but I am not sure what kind of pain medicine they would be using so that probably makes all of the difference... Def call your doc and ask what the concerns are :) GOOD LUCK!