BFing after dentist?

[mama2g03]

I went to the dentist today and had a cavity filled, so the dentist was going to use Novocaine. I asked him about the effects on BFing, so he checked the package insert from the drug and said that it read that the effects on breastmilk are unknown. He agreed that the best thing would be to just pump and dump to be safe. He also said he'd never heard of it being a problem, but better safe than sorry. So, just wondering what anyone else has done in this situation. I figured I would pump twice and throw it out since I'm not sure of the pharmacokinetics of that particular drug. Hopefully that will be enough. Any advice? Thanks.

[bigsis]

I personally didn't get any drugs when I got my root canal b/c I was told it's not advisable by my ped and my dentist. However, if you want to double check you might want to go to Dr Thomas Hale's website and look it up from there.

[C99]

Well, I just had a root canal yesterday (and had both novocaine and NO2) and breastfed afterwards without ill effect to Nathaniel. In general, novocaine is safe for breastfeeding. And I've been told that NO2 passes out of the body as soon as it is exhaled, so that wasn't a problem either.

[mama2g03]

Thanks for the info. I searched online and found some additional info at breastfeed.com which said that it has a pretty short half life and by the time the numbness is gone so is the drug. Should be ok now.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I didn't pump and dump after getting teeth filled.

http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/dentalwork.html

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Momof3Labs]

I didn't pump and dump after some recent dental work with Novocaine, either.

[mteve]

Hi- I'm a dentist and I thought I'd pass on some information I looked up.

Lidocaine and mepivicaine, the most commonly used dental anesthetics, are safe for breast feeding women (Drug Information for the Health Care Professional, volumes IA and IB, edition 12, Rockville, MD. 1992. United states Pharmocopeial Convention.)

Novocaine has not been used in dentistry for over 20 years.

"the amount of drug excreted in the breast milk usually is not more than 1%-2% of the maternal dose; therefore it is highly unlikely that most drugs are of any pharmacologic significance to the infant". (Wilson et al. Drug Excretion in Human Breast Milk: Principles, Pharmacokinetics and Projected Consequences. Clinical Pharacokinetics 5:1-66, 1980). A dentist would likely use between 1.8 and 3.6 milliliters of anesthetic for a single filling. The amount of lidocaine in that volume would be between 36 and 72 milligrams. 1-2% of that amount would be between 0.36 and 0.72 milligrams- a tiny amount that would be inconsequential if it is in fact passed into breastmilk.

Hope that is useful information as far as dental care goes.

Eve

[westchicagomom]

All the research I have done on the anesthesia aspect of dental work say that it is no problem. However, if you had a silver filling put in, I might worry a little about the mercury aspect. I had a piece of a filling break off during my last few weeks of pregnancy and they "fixed" it w/ a non-silver resin. It does need to be completely replaced and I have cancelled appointment after appointment to do so because I am very worried about the mercury. I have done a lot of research and it does get into breastmilk. They just don't know what the effects on an infant are. It just depends who and what you believe on the whole mercury issue - and it's a huge one.

My appointment is actually tomorrow and I have been trying to start the weaning process (so very hard to do - actually heartbreaking) because I know every time I feed her I am going to think I am poisoning her.

Hopefully you got a non-silver filling, but if you didn't, the process you went through is MUCH better then actually having one replaced in terms of a lot less mercury getting into your bloodstream.

Pam
Mom to Lilabeth (9-03)

[mama2g03]

I did get a non-silver composite filling, but the place where the new filling was apparently next to an old silver filling and the dentist did replace it - when I rinsed after drilling there were pieces of silver in the bowl. I asked about silver fillings and mercury and breastfeeding and my dentist said it shouldn't affect breastmilk. How worried should I be? Obviously it's too late because the silver was already taken out - I wasn't aware that was going to happen until after it was done. Now I'm nervous - I don't even eat tuna anymore at all because of the mercury.

[westchicagomom]

I don't know. There is so much information out there - from people who say not to worry to people who say you should never have a filling replaced while BF. There is so much controversy regarding mercury in fillings in the first place and then with the mercury and autism issue. Who really knows. Here are some things I found out from a lot of research.

1. Mercury definitely passes into breastmilk from your bloodstream

2. (Hopefully) since it it in liquid form, the infant will eliminate it through their GI tract and it won't end up in other organs (e.g brain). But again who really knows - I found limited info on this because I don't think we have ever pumped infants full of mercury-laden BM to find out.

3. The vapor from the mercury is what is really toxic. Supposedly you can swallow pieces of filling and it gets eliminated rather than put into your bloodstream. But when you chew, drink hot liquids (mercury vaporizes at room temp) or drill into it, the vapors are released, get into your lungs and then into your bloodstream.

4. "Supposedly" the concentration of mercury goes down after 48 hours. I am going to try not to BF for that amount of time (she hates bottles, so that is going to be tough). The level still stays elevated, but then goes down after about 2 months.

5. "Supposedly" taking mega doses of vitamin C and taking garlic supplements helps eliminate mercury from your body. I already take some C and garlic, so I am going to up those while not BF.

I am paranoid about such things as I said earlier, so it is the main reason for me to start to wean. I wish someone could tell me (and you) not to worry about it at all, but I really don't think anyone knows for sure.

Pam
Mom to Lilabeth (9-03)

[mama2g03]

OK, now I'm kind of freaking out and don't know what to do. DH thinks I'm overreacting and that you can find something bad about anything you do, which I agree to a point. The mercury thing is just such a hot debate these days. I would hate to give up on BFing already - DS is only 5 mo, but I don't want to put him at risk either.

I wish my dentist would have let me know before he was going to remove the filling. Although, he was aware of my mercury concerns when he asked what kind of filling I wanted and I asked about problems with the silver and mercury. Wouldn't dentists know this is a problem with BFing if it's that serious? My dentist seems very concerned and educated about health issues and dentistry. Maybe I will call the ped. to see what he has to say.

Thanks for sharing you knowledge - where did you find most of your info, the internet?

[westchicagomom]

Yes, the internet, and you have to wade through a lot of garbage to find anything that looks remotely scientific because it is such a controversial issue. For example, if you google "fillings, breastfeeding and mercury" the first thing that comes up is a pamphlet from the National Health Ministry in Australia which recommends that BF moms not have fillings replaced, "however" if they need to have it done, then there is no scientific evidence that shows any real cause for concern. In this day, everyone has to be so careful as to not say anything which might cause a lawsuit. Until something is proven, dentists really probably can't say much about the mercury issue. I just think it is really interesting that all these warnings have been reiterated recently about mercury in fish and nothing about this issue. For the vast majority of people/kids, there probably is no reason for concern. It would have been much worse if you had this done during pregnancy because the mercury crosses the placenta. DD already was subjected to mercury then via 2 Rho-gam shots I received - so that is why I am a bit more worried about this. I should have lived in an age when all this information was not available - because in this case, ignorance is definitely bliss!

Pam
Mom to Lilabeth (9-03)