I was planning on getting a smile makeover but just found out I’m pregnant. Can I go through with it or do I need to wait?
Avery
Dear Avery,
Congratulations on your upcoming blessing. Babies are the best. Whether or not you can go forward with treatment depends on a couple of things. The first is what procedures you were planning. The second is whether or not you’re in a high-risk category in your pregnancy.
Let’s start with the procedures.
Teeth Whitening
Getting your teeth whitened hasn’t been officially cleared for pregnant women. It’s not because there is evidence of it doing harm to the baby, it is because we’ve had no tests to say it doesn’t do harm. As you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of women lining up to have their unborn child be a test subject.
I’m sure you can find a dentist to do it for you. Just make sure you understand the risks. By that I mean we don’t yet know the risks.
Invisalign
These are clear aligners you wear over your teeth to straighten them. It’s perfectly safe to use during pregnancy. However, if you are prone to morning sickness and vomiting, you may find this an inconvenient time to straighten your teeth. The aligners have to be worn almost full-time, with the obvious time exceptions being during meals.
Vomiting will mean thoroughly cleaning out the aligners so you don’t get stuck with anything acidic in them. This will lead to massive decay.
Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are a safe procedure, even during pregnancy. The only chemical used would be the Lidocaine which is used for numbing during tooth preparation. Lidocaine is one of the medicines which has been FDA approved as safe to use during pregnancy. It’s even sometimes used during the delivery process.
The only cautionary tale I’d offer here is to make sure you see an expert cosmetic dentist or you will be disappointed with your smile makeover results.
All that being said, if you are in a high-risk pregnancy group, you’ll need to scrap everything I just said and talk to your obstetrician and get clearance on everything first. There will likely be special considerations.
Best of luck to you and your baby.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.