Dental Crowns during Pregnancy: Better in the Third Trimester

Dental problems during pregnancy are familiar concerns affecting many women. Dentists advise pregnant women not to ignore preventive dental cleanings and exams because they are safe and recommended by dental professionals.

During pregnancy, women experience hormonal changes causing their gums to swell and bleed, resulting in heightened gum sensitivity. Unfortunately, they can also become victims of pregnancy gingivitis, causing them to need treatments from the dentist in Mesa, AZ, more frequently than six months. If left untreated, the infection causes tooth loss making pregnant women prone to premature childbirth. Therefore women needing dental treatments for oral hygiene must contact their dentist to receive essential therapies.

The Safety of Dental Crowns during Pregnancy

Experts have available no confirmed answers as to whether dental crowns are safe for pregnant women. Some experts think dental crowns are safe during pregnancy, while others believe they are better avoided.

Pregnant women should postpone non-essential dental treatments until after they give birth to the baby. For example, if they find a need for a dental crown for aesthetic reasons during pregnancy and visit cosmetic dentistry, Mesa, they will likely receive a suggestion to postpone the treatment until after childbirth because cosmetic treatments are not considered essential by dentists.

However, getting a dental crown during pregnancy might prove beneficial for many. For example, pregnant women with a severely damaged or decayed tooth benefit by having it covered with a dental crown to prevent the infection from spreading to the neighboring teeth. Besides inhibiting the infection’s spread, women can also contain other diseases that might affect them because of hormonal changes they experience during pregnancy. Therefore they can consider getting dental crowns during pregnancy but will receive advice from dental offices to have the treatment during the third trimester and not earlier.

Dentists do not provide treatments like getting tooth bridges, dental implants, and elective procedures like whitening teeth or dental veneers during pregnancy. Instead, they advise planning the therapy during pregnancy and getting it after childbirth for ease of comfort. However, pregnant women needing dental crowns to cover severely decayed teeth can and will receive the treatment during the third trimester when they find it comfortable to lie in the dentist’s chair.

Dental Crowns Explained

Dental crowns, alternatively known as tooth caps, are covers that help encase a damaged or decayed tooth and are made of different materials like porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, ceramic, stainless steel, and gold. Dental crowns also help severely cracked or chipped teeth and one severely discolored tooth. Crowns also help support dental bridges and cover dental implants.

Getting dental crowns is not a process similar to whitening teeth. Instead, the dental crown procedure requires dentists to administer local anesthesia near the affected tooth to reshape it to accommodate a custom-created dental crown. The process also requires women to wear temporary crowns over the prepared tooth for approximately three weeks, after which they can contact the provider to have the permanent restoration over their tooth in a second appointment. Therefore while getting dental crowns during pregnancy might seem challenging, dentists complete the procedure comfortably during the third trimester when pregnant women find it comfortable to remain in the dentist’s chair for the duration of their appointment.

Dental Procedures Women Are Allowed during Pregnancy

Pregnancy shouldn’t encourage women to neglect their dental health but must make them determined to care for their oral hygiene as best possible. Hormonal changes affecting women during pregnancy make them vulnerable to tooth decay and pregnancy gingivitis that need therapies like dental fillings, deep cleanings, et cetera. Women might also require anesthesia and x-rays when receiving dental treatments during pregnancy. However, advances in dentistry enable dentists to complete most essential procedures during pregnancy using the latest technology and ensuring they care for the mother and the child simultaneously.

While anesthesia in the mouth will likely not cause any problems, women express fears about x-rays and the radiation they might be exposed to. However, dentists presently have the technology to take x-rays using intraoral scanners to get entire pictures of the mouth on a computer screen without radiation exposure. Therefore women can receive most except for elective treatments during pregnancy without fearing anesthesia or technology. In some cases, women can also seek emergency care during pregnancy if required.

Dentists recommend that women avoid getting dental work done during the second trimester because it is a time when pregnancy hormones make gum tissues sensitive and susceptible to bleeding. Instead, they suggest the best time for dental work is the third trimester when women will not confront similar complications when getting restorations like dental crowns and others so long as the treatment is essential to protect their dental and oral health.

If you are pregnant and have a damaged tooth, do not leave it until after pregnancy but seek treatment with a dental crown from Bella Via Dental during the third trimester of your pregnancy. The professionals at the practice ensure you and your baby receive adequate care while you get your dental crown during the third trimester.