I’ve been looking forward to getting my teeth whitened. I have an appointment next week. This morning, I just found out I’m pregnant. Is it still safe for me to get them whitened or do I need to wait until after I have the baby?
Chrissy P.
Dear Chrissy,
Congratulations! It’s so exciting to have a newborn in the house. I don’t know if this is your first child, but it’s the most challenging and rewarding thing you’ll ever do.
As far as teeth whitening and pregnancy goes, the truth is we don’t know. It’s been put on the “not recommended” list. That’s not because we know anything bad will happen. In order for it to be declared safe, it has to go through controlled studies where expectant moms have teeth whitening done while pregnant and then we wait and see if it has any adverse effects on the baby. As you can imagine, there aren’t too many moms queuing up to have their unborn child be the guinea pig.
That doesn’t mean it will cause harm, just that we don’t know. That probably has given you no definitive direction to go, but it’s all the data we currently have. I will say there haven’t been any reports of babies having any negative effects from mothers that have gone ahead with their work.
Most obstetricians will recommend you put off any unnecessary treatments. That’s not the same as if you have decay or a tooth infection. Those need to be dealt with, because leaving an untreated infection has been linked to premature delivery and low birth weight. You also don’t want to risk passing an infection onto your child. There are antibiotics which are safe to use while preganant. Never put off a dental emergency.
Again, congratulations!
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Jerome Cha.
