Wisdom tooth in pregnancy
Pregnancy is a special time for every woman. It is filled with pleasant troubles and the joy of expecting a baby. But, in addition, the future mother faces a lot of complex issues related to her health. One of them: wisdom teeth and pregnancy.
About wisdom teeth
"Eights" have their own peculiarities and are different from the rest of the teeth in many ways. They have no deciduous precursors to "show" them the way to sprout. In addition, wisdom teeth can erupt at any age. For these reasons, "eights" cause a lot of problems, including during pregnancy.
Preparing for pregnancy
It is desirable to think about the condition of the teeth even before pregnancy. The fact is that wisdom teeth may not bother up to a certain point. Therefore, it is worth visiting a dentist during the preparation for this important period. He will take an x-ray, where you can accurately examine the position of the wisdom teeth.
What wisdom teeth are
- Unerupted. A wisdom tooth often begins to erupt in adulthood, causing discomfort, or does not erupt at all.
- Lying down. In this case, the wisdom teeth begin to press on neighboring teeth, destroying them.
Sometimes the wisdom tooth does not erupt completely, so the so-called "hood" is formed. This is a section of gum that overhangs the tooth. Under it, food debris clogs, which causes inflammation. The dentist can help in this case: he will simply remove a small section of gum, opening the wisdom tooth.
When the dentist decides to remove the wisdom tooth
- The tooth is lying sideways, so it will cause problems in any case
- It is out of alignment and causes trauma.
- The gum is often inflamed above it, and the hood will reappear after extraction
- Cannot be reached and therefore cannot be treated properly
- The result does not justify the effort: the wisdom tooth does not carry a functional load, so complex and expensive treatment makes no sense.
During pregnancy
Are you worried about unpleasant sensations related to your teeth? The first thing you should do is to make an appointment with a dentist. Treating teeth during pregnancy is not just possible, but necessary. The doctor will accurately determine the cause of discomfort and offer the safest and most correct solution.
If a tooth is erupting
When a tooth is just trying to sprout without causing any inflammation, you can help it. To do this, all you need to do is massage the gum and bite hard foods. But sometimes a hood forms - in this case, immediately make an appointment with the doctor.
Before visiting the doctor, you can help yourself with inflammation in a few simple ways:
- Bath with warm baking soda or saline solution
- Rinse your mouth with a decoction of chamomile, calendula or sage
- Make tea with ginger and lemon: they also have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Can a wisdom tooth be extracted during pregnancy?
It is undesirable to perform tooth extraction during pregnancy. But the dentist always focuses on the condition of the teeth in a particular case. He will try to save the tooth and, if possible, postpone the surgical procedure. In case of intolerable pain, cyst formation or inflammation, the doctor will decide to remove the tooth. The procedure will take place with the use of a local anesthetic.
An unerupted tooth is a source of infection. The risk is much higher than if anesthetics are used during treatment. Therefore, it is very important to address the wisdom tooth problem to avoid complications for the mom and her baby.
Dental treatment during pregnancy
It is advisable to postpone all procedures related to the treatment of wisdom teeth from the 3rd to the 6th month of pregnancy. But this applies to planned treatment, that is, it applies to cases where urgent intervention of the doctor or anesthesia is not required. If something is sick or swollen, however, immediately contact the doctor. It is important to realize that dental problems do not resolve on their own, you need the help of a specialist.
Modern anesthetics are safe for pregnant and nursing moms. The doctor chooses a suitable means that does not penetrate the placenta or milk. Of the drugs used ultracaine or lidocaine for application to the site of inflammation.
Before working with the wisdom tooth, the doctor needs to take an X-ray. Without it can not do without it in any case. Dental clinics use visiographs - modern low-dose X-ray machines. For comparison: while walking under the summer sun, you get the same radiation dose as when you take 80-2500 X-rays on a visiograph. Therefore, this examination is completely safe for pregnant women.
