Very very NOT fun!

[MoeJoe]

Yesterday morning I woke up with a toothache... it got worse and worse as the day wore on and as I ate. I tried to not eat sweet foods, then I tried not to eat hard foods... Nothing helped. By this morning it was just a dull ache, but something was obviously wrong.

So, I forced myself to go the dentist- I HATE going there! He's a nice guy and all, but y'know...

And of course he didn't have anything good to tell me. Basically I have a infection in the bone above my tooth as well as some nerve damage in my tooth... Hurray! NOT! So, he said that he recommends a root canal, but can't do it while I'm in my 3rd trimester, though i can go to a specialist if I want. He gave me a prescription for the infection and HOPEFULLY it will clear up on its own without having to spend hundreds of $$$ and go thru more pain than necessary.

I'm supposed to give it about a week, see how it is doing then and decide what to do... I'm praying the infection and pain will go away soon!

[MoJo]

Ugh. . . the other MoJo here with prayers for you!

[KathyN115]

So sorry - I hate going to the dentist too!

Feel better!!

[stinkyfeet]

If you have an active infection, you really should have it treated. It is not healthy for the baby for you to have an infection. Dental infections don't go away on their own. The antibiotics will just calm the infection down for a while, but then it will come back with a vengeance within a few weeks or a few months. I recommend that you see the specialist right away.

Advice from a dentist who is playing sahm at the moment

[DebbieJ]

I had a root canal in my 3rd tri. My midwife totally agreed that I needed to have it taken care of rather than live in pain during labor.

[KrisM]

Oh no! I hope you can get it fixed.

[ewpmsw]

Oh, man, that sounds horrible. I hope you're feeling better soon, whatever it takes!

[MoeJoe]

Thanks everyone!

stinkyfeet, if the antibiotics will calm it down for a while, why is it not a good idea to just wait until after the baby is born? If it'll (maybe...) come back a few weeks/months later, then that'll hopefully be after the birth anyway. No? Then I'll feel so much more comfortable getting the root canal done, if needed.

But, I am going to the OB on Wednesday and I'm going to ask her what she thinks about all of this.

GRRRRR, is how I am feeling right now!

But, I do appreciate e/o good wishes!

[stinkyfeet]

It is hard to say how bad your tooth is without looking at your x-Ray, but if your dentist said that your bone is infected in addition to your tooth, you most likely have some sort of abcess. The problem is that you really don't know when the pain will come back. What if you are dealing with labor pains and and a killer toothache at the same time, or what if you feel so overwhelmed with a newborn that you can't find time or have energy to leave to get this fixed?

The real problem is that the infection is still there even though you are taking antibiotics. Infected teeth don't respond to antibiotics like the rest of your bodily infections. It has been proven that untreated gum disease can affect the health of your unborn baby. Don't you think that an untreated dental infection could possibly do the same?

Having a root canal done is not a big deal. Personally, I would rather have the root canal done asap than take pain meds and antibiotics during pregnancy.

Root canals involve local anesthesia (not anymore than is really needed for a filling--unless you wait until the last minute and your tooth pain is unbearable). The dentist will take a drill and remove any decay, and then he will drill a little deeper into the nerve chamber (you will not feel a thing). The
infected nerve will be removed with drills/files. The nerve canals will be filled with a rubber material and the tooth will be filled. You will most likely need a
crown after the root canal. This can wait until after delivery. You do not want
to wait too long b/c your tooth needs the extra reinforcement Of a crown since
the loss of your nerve and blood supply to the tooth can make your tooth
more brittle and susceptible to breakage.

[MoeJoe]

stinkyfeet- thanks for the info, but one more question: do you know how long a root canal takes, normally? and how long it would take for a specialist to do the procedure? Bec. I thought that while in the third trim. you shouldn't be on your back for more than 20 min. at a time...