Im 35 weeks pregnant and have an appt to get a root canal done on Tuesday. Does anyone know if novacaine is safe while pregnant? Or had any dental work done in the 3rd trimester? Im not finding much info on the internet, and my OB isnt in the office on mon and tues.
I decided to get the root canal done. The dentist was used to working on pregnant women, and went really fast and would sit me up every few minutes because I was leaning so far back I was getting really nauseas.
I had a cavity filled in my 1st trimester and did have novacaine. My dentist made me get approval from my OB/GYN though. My OB had no problem with it. Kids are fine and now 4 and 6.
Dental work is usually done in the 2nd and 3rd trimester. Novocain is very localized so no need to worry. I had to have a procedure finished up in my first trimester and both the dentist, ob and my hubby in dental school (who looked up lots of stuff for me) said it was fine. My procedure was very minor so I opted to try without it but for a root canal that is probably not something you want to try.
I needed 3 root canals (due to a sports injury) when I was pregnant . I was told to wait until my 2nd or 3rd trimester.
I had 2 root canals done at once while in my 3rd trimester. They had to give me lots of novacaine. =)
Novacaine is safe during pregnancy, however they do need to do xrays for a root canal. My dentist said it should be safe in the third trimester but my OB preferred that I wait until after the baby was born. The dentist did half of the root canal so the tooth was cleaned out and then he put a temporary filling in. After I had the baby, he removed the temp filling, did the xrays and finished the root canal.
Hello,
I just found out that I may need some dental work that requires novacaine. After speaking with two OB's one said that it will be ok if it's a must and the other said WAIT until second trimester. Since I keep getting two different answers I decided to do what's best for the baby....not to take a risk. Having said that you also want to be careful with an infection during pregnancy. I made a decision based on my boday and health.
Yes, it's fine once you're in your third trimester. They will not do it earlier in pregnancy.
I had work done at that time and novocaine at the time and all was well.
call your ob/gyn..on this only they can really tell you...good luck
I have had work done and my wonderful friend is my dentist. I am incredibly hard to numb and have lost babies in the past, so she is very carful with what she does to me during pregnancy. I believe that novacaine was what she used. Ask the dentist that you will be using. He or she will know what drugs are safe to use. If not he will know where to find out.
Consult your OB with this situation. It's important that your OB knows of ALL kinds of medications you may be administered, especially in these last weeks of your pregnancy.
I would wait. I did wait actually, when I was pregnant. My OB always maintained that the best trimester was the 2nd. Safe in the 2nd, Unsafe in the 1st, and in the 3rd trimester it's not good for the baby for you to be lying on your back for such a long time. Plus, no one can ever guarantee how you or your body will react to anesthetic... especially during pregnancy. I opted not to have any dental work done even in the 2nd trimester - better safe than sorry I thought. After the birth, I had my mom watch the baby so I could go have my root canal done.
I would also wait, if it can be postponed. Bleeding is increased in dental work when you're pregnant because of the hormones. And with a root canal, there can be pain afterwords, risks of infection, etc. I just wouldn't choose to put myself through all that if it could wait.
By the postings below, it looks like common practice to perform dental work while pregnant, but I would avoid it. If you're in your 3rd trimester, just wait a while. If you need a root canal, it's possible that you have some fillings already. If these fillings are disturbed (and they're silver) metals can be absorbed in your system that you may not want your baby exposed to. If it can wait-wait.
I had a lot of work done during my second and third trimester. My dentist was actually more cautious then my ob dr. He did use novacaine on me and it was just fine. I did get lightheaded right away, so they tipped me back and it passed with in a few minutes. The dentist said it's common and next time we didn't use as much. The only problem with that is that it wears off quicker. It was nice having the work done before the baby. It was one less thing to have to remember to do!
I would check with another OB in the office to be certain if that is possible.
