Ouch -- infected tooth

[moonInLion]

sitting here with debilitating tooth ache, coming from a likely infected tooth. really looking forward to my dentist appointment tomorrow to get some relief.....talked to midwife, she says it is important to get rid of the infection, so allow dentist to treat tooth as he needs to treat it, just get a safe kind of antibiotics and watch out for yeast infection.
I must say this worries me, as I think to have read somewhere that antibiotics in pregnancy can have an effect on the teeth of the developing baby....so am I setting up my little one now for bad teeth? it seems I don't have much of a choice...this pain has to be dealt with at source.....

[lizsky]

Just wanted to say that I sympathize and hope that things go well for you. My teeth have been terrible for the past couple of years (probably related to GI problems but that's another story), and I had cavities filled a couple weeks ago. Didn't feel great about the possible effect on pregnancy, but like you, I felt like I needed to get it done to prevent a worse scenario from occurring. Best wishes to you!

[ShadowFox]

I had this same problem happen to me after I kept waking up with dry mouth every morning for weeks.
I took grape fruit seed extract for a few days and it was gone and hasn't come back.

[lunita1]

The antibiotic associated with tooth discoloration in the fetus is tetracycline. You'll probably be prescribed something from the penicillin family, which doesn't carry that risk.

FWIW, I had an infected tooth about a month ago. The dentist did a quick topical treatment to kill the infection, and will finish up the work after baby is born.

[momtoluke]

I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled at 14 weeks. It had a really big cavity and I wanted to prevent infection. I was STRESSED about that tooth but am so glad I had it taken care of since it was starting to get really painful. Good luck to you.

[mama kk]

Tooth pain can be so debilitating... I hope it gets better soon!

[ArtsyMomma]

I needed antibiotics for a UTI, I'm pretty sure it's during the first trimester that there is a risk of tooth problems for the developing baby. My OB just prescribed a different abx than usual.

[gcgirl]

I'm having a root canal in a couple of weeks. Not happy about it, but the risks of letting the infection go are greater than the procedure, IMO. Stupid teeth. Who needs this during pregnancy?!

[lunita1]

The risk to teeth is actually in the second and third trimesters, but like I said it is tetracycline, so it is just a matter of not getting tetracycline (which isn't what they usually prescribe for tooth infections anyway, unless maybe you're allergic to penicillin.)

[moonInLion]

Thanks you all!
Nothing was done at today's appointment. Dentist is not sure which of two neighbouring could be the culprit for my pain, and is not sure that it is an infection at all. There is some chance I just traumatized the teeth last week with too much tooth-clenching
(yes, I have a history for that...) which then caused all that pain I have been experiencing for the last 5 days. Got the encouragement to come back tomorrow if pain gets worse again (it was like 8/10 yesterday and is 5/10 now), and got a referral to an endodontist in 2.5 weeks (that's the earliest one available, but I am on their short-notice-in-case of cancellation list). And will be getting a nightguard next month to avoid
future clenching.
Hoping so much he is right and things calm down! No fun for sure.

[huskermommy]

Looks like you've got it figured out , but I did want to chime in and say that if you have tooth pain again to try Tea Tree Oil. I had TERRIBLE pain with a wisdom tooth that is partially erupted. TTO did the trick! Thanks to my wonderful midwife!

I felt the pain coming on again and used it one time and it stopped it in it's tracks!

[Cersha]

clove oil applied to the tooth is supposed to ease/eliminate the pain (temporarily, of course. Not sure if it's ok for pregnancy, never checked)

[enfpintj]

What did you do with the tto?

[enfpintj]

check the wikipedia, it can be toxic at certain levels, though it is often recommended for tooth pain.

[AndrewsMother]

I don't know if this is a safe treatment during pregnancy, but it helped me so much when I had an abscessed tooth.

Brush the tooth lightly, rinse with peroxide 2 to 3 times, then rinse with Listerine.

I had to wait over a year to have my infected wisdom tooth removed, with each flare up I followed the above regimen. The pain was always greatly reduced.

[huskermommy]

Originally Posted by enfpintj

What did you do with the tto?

Swabbed it on the area 3 to 4 times a day until the pain stopped. Although, the taste is terrible and I could only handle a couple times a day! It was gone in 1 1/2 days. My midwife said to do it every so often to avoid another flare up.

Originally Posted by AndrewsMother

I don't know if this is a safe treatment during pregnancy, but it helped me so much when I had an abscessed tooth.

Brush the tooth lightly, rinse with peroxide 2 to 3 times, then rinse with Listerine.

I had to wait over a year to have my infected wisdom tooth removed, with each flare up I followed the above regimen. The pain was always greatly reduced.

I've done something similar to this too. Before rinsing I would clean out the gum area where stuff was "hiding". But it eventually got to a point when even that wasn't enough. I think it's a better option then having an infection though.

On TTO's safety... I think it's one of those things where over use could be an issue. However, you have to weigh your options. You don't want to mess around with an infection while pregnant and I think TTO is a safe alternative to other "mainstream" medicines.