Toothache during pregnancy

[Nat777]

My dentist has refused to treat me, no X-Rays (which I kinda understand) no fillings, in fact nothing. He wouldnt even look to see what the problem may be and has told me that I have to wait until after the birth.

The thing is I am in agony day and night. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am at my wits end with the pain!

That sounds a bit odd. No x-rays of course but I had dental treatment while pregnant, it's not barred. Is there any way of getting another opinion? Have you been given an adequate explanation as to why he won't treat you?

I had similar problem when pg with DD (it turned out to be sinusitus though from v bad cold) My dentist said that he couldn't tell from looking alone which tooth was causing the prob without an xray. Apparently pain in one area could be caused by a number of teeth in that area and until they start drilling.........? so it's a bit hit and miss I suppose, doesn't help though. Toothache is the pits!! Hope it eases soon. It's ok to take paracetemol though and my Nan swears by rubbbing brandy into the gum to numb it.

I had this too. In fact dentist prescribed me medicated mouthwash and that was about it!

Thankfully it passed after a couple of days.

Hope yours passes soon

i had very bad tooth ache which turned out to be a bad wisdom tooth was in agony. my dentist took the tooth out 4 me and assured me it was fine. im now 37+1

i know what that pain is like sorry ur dentist wont do anything

I have chronic toothache after eating, im having 2 teeth out on the 23rd june and then having my treatment done in sections of my mouth so 4 more sessions after that -eeek! (just shows what happens when your not registered with a dentist for 5 yrs!!) and im 17wks pg. Im not allowed xrays but you can have the aneasthetic injection and fillings, although you should only have white fillings whilst pg as the dark ones contain mercury.

pandagirl, what was the pain like when you had the tooth out? how long did it hurt for afterwards?

there is a limit to what should be done when pregnant but to leave a pt in pain and not attempt to do something to help is unacceptable. admittedly without xrays it can be diff to detect the problem but without even looking the prob obviuosly won't be apparent. how long do you have until baby's born? i would ask them again for another appt. tomorrow if you are still in pain, looking in your mouth isn't going to harm you or your unborn child, if he still refuses to do anything try and see another dentist (people have had fillings, local anaesthetic, antibiotics, root canal treatment and extractions whilst pregnant and although we prefer to do the minimal amount of invasive treatment when pregnant, raging toothache is not something that will go away on its own nor should it be endured unecessarily for long periods of time)

also to add, it isn't recommended that amalgam fillings are done whilst pregnant, but the white ones aren't avaliable on the nhs (at least not on back teeth ) however a temporary non metal filling can be placed to settle a tooth and then a permenant fill after the baby's born

i had a local anestectic (sp) so for the first day i had it out didn't hurt, it only hurt a tiny bit the next day but took a paracetomol it went straight away, the tiny bit of pain i had after tho was nothing compared to before. nothing would stop the pain it was horrible.

Could the dentist do x-rays with you wearing a lead lined apron? I've had this done plus fillings.

Nat777 - that is a load of rubbish. You can be treated while pregnant. You can also have X=rays if needed. Your jaw is no where near your bump. I had X-rays and had a lead apron over the bump just to be sure. I also got 4 wisom teeth taken out.
It is very important to have any problems treated during pregnancy because serious infection in the gum can cause greater health problems that can in the longrun affect pregnancy.

i had dental treatment when pregnant. the dentist did say to me to make sure, if i saw anyone else there that i told them i was pg (made me laugh, you could hardly miss it). i asked about xrays out of curiousity and he said i would be able to have those too if i had needed them.

Thanks for all of your advice. I have had to call in sick today as I only had about one hours sleep last night and I cant eat properly! Neither of which can be doing myself or my baby any good!

I am 31 weeks and 1 day, but there is no chance of me waiting until she is born! I rang and spoke to the receptionist at my dentist and I said I cant continue like this, she has asked me to go in at 10.30am this morn and sit and wait until he has a spare 5 minutes and I can discuss it with him then. I have also spoken to the midwife this morning and she said he should treat me!

I really hope he does as I want to be concentrating on my pregnancy (first) and I should be working! Sorry to moan, its just I dont think I have experienced pain like this before and it is really getting me down.

Thanks again and fingers crossed he treats me this morning!

How did you get on?

Thankfully I saw another dentist this time and he actually looked in my mouth! He is 95% sure that it is a cavity in my wisdom tooth that is causing the pain in my lower and upper teeth. I will probably need it removed, but after the birth. I hope this is the case as I had convinced myself that I needed about 6 teeth removed, as the pain is everywhere! That wouldnt be good at 25! Apparently disassociated pain is common with wisdom teeth. He is only 95% sure as I will need a X Ray to confirm this, which again he wont do until after the birth.

When I mentioned lead aprons he laughed very loudly at me!

I have been given anti bioctics and am still taking paracetemols. I do feel a little happier that he actually bothered with me, but the practice as a whole seems to have a policy that they will not treat pregnant women!

Thanks again and I hope I get some sleep tonight and it ease's!

There is absolutely no evidence that x-rays or mercury fillings do any harm when pregnent to either the mum or baby.I am afraid we can blame our increasingly litigious world (ambulance chasing lawyers)for these non evidence based guidelines.
I had amalgam fillings and x-rays when pg.
I cannot understand why your dentist was reluctant to see you .

I just had the worst toothache ever a couple of weeks ago (when I was 10 months pregnant) and although they did not x-ray at I had a root canal treatment. The dentist said it is very important to do something against the pain as the baby gets stressed otherwise and also if it is an infection it might cause the baby more harm if it is not treated properly. Hope the pain is a bit better now, I had to see an emergency dentist on a Saturday night, never imagined toothache to be that painful....

Your dentist is mad!! i totally feel for you i had this problem about 3 weeks ago and i was only 23 weeks pregnant then, i felt like someone had stuck a carving knife in my gums! i went straight in and he said it was an old filling playing up, he took it out there and then and also said he had to take the nerve out (yuk) and then he just put a white temporary filling in until after baby was born and then he would re do with a more permanent one! i think if he had told me he couldnt do anything i would have cried, i cant understand why some dentists will treat pregnant women, and some wont! it seems bonkers to leave some one in pain when something can be done! i really hope you feel some relief soon! xxx

Maybe I should print off your repies and show them to the practice! Seems very odd that they wont treat me, when so many of you have been treated! I hate to tempt fate, but today has been ok and I managed some sleep last night. Fingers crossed it will ease for a while., if it does come back as bad as it was I will have to go back in. Thanks

Salt is a natural antiseptic and it does help. When I was pregnant with dd I had problems with my wisdom teeth and this was what the dentist advised. It made things just about bearable.
Hope you feel better soon.

Pregnant women have a higher chance of getting exposed to dental problems.Pregnant women have high chances of losing teeth or experiencing pain during their tenure.
These are some causes for toothache during pregnancy
: morning sickness,calcium deficiency,diet changes etc.Here are some remedies
-Cloves are a great ingredient to ease out the tooth pains during pregnancy. Either you can eat the clove and chew it as long you can.
-Hot water a well-known remedy, the best and simplest solution seen. You don’t have to do anything except preparing yourself some warm water every day and gargle it by adding one pinch of salt to it.Hope this helps.

You poor thing! Teethache sucks during pregnancy. I had a tooth extraction at 6 months and it was fine, had the assistant holding my hand to help me stay calm for baby! I would not have lasted another 3/4 months with that pain.