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Teeth Trouble
Common Dental Concerns During Pregnancy
By Kimberly A. Loos, D.D.S.
An article that appeared in the May, 1992 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) entitled "Treating the Pregnant Patient: Four Basic Rules Addressed" reviewed a survey of obstetricians. These obstetricians answered questions regarding consultations prior to dental treatment, use of radiographs during treatment, and stress during care. Ninety-one percent of the obstetricians stated that they did not want to be consulted prior to routine dental care, and 56% stated they did not require consultation prior to emergency care. Ninety-seven percent stated that emergency radiographs were acceptable. Only 27% asked for consultation prior to use of local anesthetic as it is a commonly used agent and has no documented ill-effects. Obstretricians were most concerned about the use of prescription drugs such as antibiotics and analgesics. A very low percentage of surveyed obstetricians wanted to be consulted prior to administration of local anesthetic. The main concerns are radiographs and certain types of medications which might be prescribed during the course of dental treatment. The antibiotics dentists prescribe, incluing penicillin and its derivatives, are usually fine for the developing fetus.
Novocaine used to be a common local anesthetic used in dentistry. Today, lidocaine (also called Xylocaine) is used because some patients had allergic reactions to novocaine. Lidocaine, which is also a local anesthetic, works in essentially the same way as novocaine without causing allergic reactions and other side effects. The chemical structure of lidocaine is different from novocaine, however.
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