Dental implants for pregnant women

Can You Get Implants While Pregnant?

Sep 01, 2022

If you consider replacing missing teeth with implants, you must begin planning months earlier. However, if you had your consultation and scheduled your appointment for the placement and discovered you are pregnant, you might wonder whether you can safely receive an implant with the delicate condition. Therefore, you might decide you must revisit the dental office in Anchorage, AK, for another consultation about receiving dental implants during pregnancy.

Essential Vs. Elective Treatments during Pregnancy

Dentists carefully weigh the benefits and risks of any treatments recommended to patients before moving forward. They aim to minimize the risk of harmful effects to patients and exercise extra caution with pregnant patients.

Getting dental implants in Anchorage or elsewhere in America is an elective treatment and not an essential requirement. However, implants are undoubtedly necessary to replace missing teeth and prevent the consequences of tooth loss that make essential treatments a requirement.

If infected teeth put your and your baby’s health at risk, you mustn’t avoid essential treatments like getting fillings or even root canals during the second trimester. However, you shouldn’t be concerned about displaying gaps between your teeth because the Anchorage dentist can give you a temporary restoration to wear during your pregnancy, requesting you to reschedule your appointment after your baby arrives.

Oral Health Challenges during Pregnancy

Dental implant surgery during pregnancy is concerning because you confront oral health challenges because of hormonal changes increasing the chances of dental implant failure. In addition, dentists are reluctant to conduct clinical research on women because they consider it unethical.

For example, you might confront challenges like changes to your immune system, pregnancy gingivitis, and gestational diabetes, which can contribute to implant failure at a higher rate than others. When dentists consider patients for dental implants, whether men or women, they perform a thorough oral and health evaluation regardless of whether the patient wants a single tooth replacement or an entire arch. Dentists demand patients be in optimal oral and general fitness for the best outcomes after receiving dental implants.

Complications Post-Surgery for Dental Implants

During dental implant placement, there is a need to take x-rays and administer anesthesia during the surgical process. While oral anesthesia is safe for many people, some might require complete anesthesia like sedation and intravenous anesthetics. In addition, pregnant women at a higher risk of infections are recommended to delay the treatment instead of rushing through it. Dentists recommend changing your decision to have dental implants when pregnant because your condition significantly impacts their treatment options for pain and infection.

During pregnancy, you become suitable for many antibiotics. Infections are discomforting but make you incapable of having most prescription medicines besides over-the-counter pain relievers to help alleviate the symptoms.

The stress about discomfort and pain isn’t the most comforting during pregnancy because it harms you and your baby. The anxiousness during your pregnancy can result in unwanted complications making it better for you to schedule your implant placement surgery after your baby arrives.

What to Do While Waiting Is the Only Option?

You might express discomfort at not receiving dental implants during pregnancy and might even think you might have to welcome your baby with a toothless grin. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot start planning and preparing yourself to get dental implants in a few months.

Please contact the Anchorage dentist to begin working on your customized treatment plan for your implant restoration. You can start transforming your smile after your baby arrives and you feel hale and hearty.

Implant restorations don’t give you additional teeth in a day and require three to six months before you can have dental crowns over the implanted titanium post.

You will need help when undergoing dental implant surgery, especially if you have chosen sedation besides local anesthesia. Sedation makes you incapable of operating vehicles, leaving you drowsy for at least four to six hours after the surgical procedure. The dentist cuts open your gums to drill holes into your jawbone to embed the titanium post in your jawbone to replace your tooth root. You must allow the titanium post to integrate with your body in a process called osseointegration.

After completing osseointegration, you must undergo another minor surgery on abutment placement. Two weeks after abutment placement, you can revisit the dentist to provide impressions of your teeth and mouth to have a customized porcelain crown to replace your missing tooth. The implant placement procedure appears lengthy but requires minimal attention after surgery and getting your artificial tooth.

Maintaining appropriate oral hygiene and getting dental prophylaxis every six months is essential to ensure your implant doesn’t fail because of plaque buildup around the implanted tooth. If you follow your dentist’s instructions, the implanted tooth will remain with you for life with proper care.

Anchorage Dental Arts provides dental implants for many patients but resists this procedure on pregnant women. However, you can begin planning for your tooth replacement solution with this practice even when pregnant and receive the implants after your baby arrives.

Close
Click to listen highlighted text!