Do’s and Dont’s of Dental Work While Breastfeeding

Giving birth to new life is always an exciting moment. Now, a woman must take care of a baby, and it is not always easy. There are so many questions in her head related to the health of a newborn. As a result, many women decide to postpone caring about their own health until better times. Such a decision may become a great mistake, especially in terms of dental health. Breastfeeding is not an obstacle for approaching a dentist. Of course, there are some limitations that feeding women have to put up with. Nevertheless, they can solve a few dental issues even while breastfeeding. It means you shouldn’t postpone visiting dentistry after nursing and suffer from bad breath during breastfeeding. Keep reading and find out everything that you should know about dental care and breastfeeding. 

Why is Oral Hygiene Important While Breastfeeding?

Taking care of a baby is a very important and responsible task for every mother. However, the woman should not neglect her own health and devote enough time to proper oral hygiene. Common rules before and while breastfeeding do not differ. You should clean your teeth regularly, floss, maintain a well-balanced diet, etc. If you are facing some problems with your health, then you should act immediately.

What Dental Issues Are Associated with Nursing?

There are a few dental issues that are strongly associated with nursing. Among them are:

1. Breastfeeding gingivitis.  According to recent research, breastfeeding can be one of the risk factors in gingival inflammation. Nursing moms are more prone to having accumulated plaque. The first symptoms of gingivitis are redness and itching of the gums, increased bleeding, inflammation, and swelling.
2. Hypersensitivity. A baby needs useful substances, including calcium for good development. If a young mother does not receive a sufficient amount of trace elements in her diet, then over time it will be subject to leaching from the body. This will lead to the destruction of enamel, increased fragility of bones and problems with the teeth as a result. The first symptoms are hypersensitivity and sharp short-term pain in the teeth.
3. Caries and pulpitis. Tooth decays are small spots on the surface of the tooth that appear due to the influence of harmful external and internal factors on the teeth leading to inflammatory processes in the hard layers of the tooth. Pulpitis is an inflammation flowing from deep caries that reaches the root canals and nerve endings, affecting them. Symptoms of these dental issues are acute pain from sweet or cold, severe aching pain that lasts 10 minutes or more.

Safe Dental Procedures While Breastfeeding

If you are wondering whether dental care and breastfeeding are compatible, then breathe with relief. Most restorative dental procedures are allowed with no risks for your or your baby’s health. You can easily undergo a root canal treatment while breastfeeding and have the following:

Dental veneers & crowns

It is safe to place dental veneers and crowns while breastfeeding. Still, you should inform your general dentist in Albuquerque about nursing so that a proper local anesthetic is applied. Mind that these restorative procedures require a few visits to a dentist’s office, so you need to plan your time accordingly.

Fillings

If you are asking yourself whether you can get a filling while breastfeeding, the answer is yes, you can. There are no reasons to postpone this dental procedure. Breastfeeding and cavities in the mom is a crucial issue since even simple sharing of a spoon may end up with transferring bacteria into the kid’s mouth.

Teeth restorations and extractions

You can approach a dentist for teeth restoration just after giving birth to a baby. Breastfeeding is not recognized as an obstacle for this dental procedure. Moreover, teeth that can’t be restored should be extracted at once. There is no need to stop breastfeeding after tooth extraction. It is the same for breastfeeding after wisdom teeth removal. In case a particular tooth must be extracted, the woman will be offered sedation services or a local anesthetic.

X-Rays and anesthesia

Do not worry about anesthesia as it is compatible with breastfeeding. Novocaine, lidocaine, and other drugs that are used for local anesthesia will not harm your baby. Mother can easily resume breastfeeding after the use of local anesthetic. If you are concerned about choosing general anesthesia, then there are no reasons to worry as well. The medicine that is administered for teeth extractions has a very short half-life. Breastfeeding after general anesthesia for C-section can be continued for sure. However, it is highly recommended to ask somebody to help you with a child after the dental procedure that involves anesthesia, as you may need some more time to recover. Dental X-rays while breastfeeding are also allowed. Even though the radiation in an X-ray may exterminate a few living cells in breast milk, it can’t put your baby at risk of radiation.

Safe Dental Medications for Breastfeeding

Most mothers are concerned about medications that they need to take while breastfeeding. Luckily, there are a lot of allowed medications, so you will not have to suffer from a toothache during breastfeeding:

•         Novocaine and other local anesthetics
•         Some antibiotics for tooth infection while breastfeeding 
•         Most pain killers

It is highly recommended to reach your dentist and consult on toothache medicine for breastfeeding to avoid possible risks.

Dental Procedures to Avoid While Breastfeeding

Most dental procedures are allowed while breastfeeding. But it does not relate to getting a snow-white smile. Teeth whitening while breastfeeding is not recommended for sure. It is not an obligatory dental procedure but a cosmetic one, so you can wait a little bit to get a dream smile like your favorite Hollywood star has. At the same time, you should not worry about the use of whitening elements in the ordinary toothpaste for pregnant moms as the concentration of whitening ingredients is not high.

Mom’s Dental Health Comes First

Even though taking care of a newborn child takes all the woman’s time, it is important to remember about own health. You will not be able to care about the baby properly if you do not feel well, or suffer from toothache. Most dental practices and breastfeeding are compatible. It means you should immediately make an appointment at a dentist’s office if you notice that your dental health is worsening. At Westside family dentistry in Albuquerque, you can learn how to treat toothache while breastfeeding and get professional assistance. Feel free to ask any questions to make sure a particular dental procedure is safe for you and your baby while breastfeeding.