Dentistry during pregnancy

[Destiny]

I’m 5 months pregnant with tooth ache. I know that when I go to the dentist he will want to take a tooth x-ray to help find out what is wrong with my tooth.

But I am really worried that this will harm my baby as I’ve heard that dental x-rays during pregnancy should be avoided.

Please give me some advice. The pain is bad and I can’t put up with it for much longer!

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

Your are correct to think that one of the very important diagnostic tools for dentists is x-rays and without it it is sometimes very difficult to assess the tooth correctly and accurately. If one cannot consider x-rays due to pregnancy then from the symptoms your are having and clinically examination it may be possible to suggest a treatment plan that would just get you out of the pain until the day that x-rays can be taken.
In a lot of cases it may be just necessary to replace a filling or temporise a restoration till more definitive treatment is done at a later time. Even if a tooth needs root canal treatment and pain is severe it can be done without x-rays are there are now very powerful and accurate tools available now that does not use x-rays. The best option would be to see you and assess your case clinically and then suggest an option that most safely get you out of pain for now.