Pregnancy · planning ahead
Planning a pregnancy: a dental checklist
Australian health guidance suggests seeing a dentist before a pregnancy to discuss treatment that can be done first. The point is not that dental work is unsafe later, because it is not. It is that finishing things beforehand is easier than fitting them around nausea, a growing bump, or a newborn.
Why bother beforehand?
Not because dental treatment is unsafe during pregnancy. It is not, and the rest of this section of the site says so repeatedly.
The reason is practical. Better Health Channel suggests that if you are planning on getting pregnant, you see your dentist to discuss treatments that can be done before. Anything involved, such as a crown, a root canal or a wisdom tooth, is simply easier to finish when you are not managing nausea, not uncomfortable lying back, and not working around a newborn. Nine months disappears faster than people expect, and the fourth trimester disappears faster still.
There is a second reason worth naming. Gums flare in pregnancy. Starting from gums that are already healthy means a smaller flare and less to deal with.
The checklist
- A check-up and clean. This is the one that generates the list. Everything below depends on what it finds.
- Deal with decay. Small fillings now rather than deep ones later. Decay does not pause for a pregnancy.
- Get your gums assessed properly. Not just cleaned. Gum measurements tell you whether you are starting from a healthy baseline, and gum treatment is more comfortable done before than during.
- Finish anything already started. A temporary crown or a treatment plan half done is the worst thing to carry into a pregnancy.
- Ask about wisdom teeth if they have ever given you trouble. Removal is surgery, and surgery is better scheduled than improvised.
- Sort out anything that only hurts sometimes. The tooth that twinges occasionally is the tooth that becomes an emergency at the least convenient moment.
- Get your cleaning routine right. The habits you take into a pregnancy are the ones you will still have when you are exhausted.
What can wait until after the birth?
Plenty, and a clinic that tells you everything is urgent before a pregnancy is not being straight with you.
Cosmetic treatment waits. Whitening is not something to start while pregnant or breastfeeding, and veneers are elective by definition, so there is no argument for rushing either before conceiving. Replacing old fillings that are sound and sealed waits, because they are doing their job. Anything being done purely for appearance can sit until after the birth, when you will also have a clearer idea of what you want.
We will tell you which category each item on your list falls into, and we will not pad the urgent one.
If you are having IVF, or it is taking a while
Tell us, and tell us as much or as little as you want to. It is not idle curiosity: it changes when treatment is best scheduled rather than whether it is safe.
The specific problem we see is people postponing dental care month after month because they might be pregnant soon, and then arriving two years later with a list that has grown. If that is where you are, say so and we will plan around your cycles rather than leaving you in limbo. The appointment can always be rescheduled if the timing changes.
What will we not claim?
That looking after your teeth will help you conceive. Dentistry has nothing useful to say about fertility, and a clinic that implies otherwise while you are going through something difficult is taking advantage.
The honest case for the appointment is the plain one: it is easier now than later, and starting a pregnancy with healthy gums and no outstanding treatment is one fewer thing to manage. Principal dentist Dr Fatima Kurnaz, a general dentist rather than a registered specialist, reviews the clinical information on this page, and if you would prefer a female dentist, say so when you book.
Other questions people ask
How far ahead should I come in?
Far enough that anything found has time to be finished without rushing. A check-up gives you the list, and the list tells you how long you actually need, which is often shorter than people fear.
What if I am already pregnant?
Then this page is still useful, just reordered. Dental treatment is described as safe during pregnancy by Australian health guidance, so most of it can still be done. Book a check-up and we will work out what is worth doing now and what can wait.
Does dental health affect fertility?
We are not going to claim that. Dentistry has nothing useful to say about conception, and any clinic implying otherwise is overreaching. The case for a check-up before a pregnancy is simpler: it is easier to deal with things now than at seven months or with a newborn.
I am having IVF. Does that change anything?
Tell us, because it changes timing rather than safety. Treatment is usually better placed around a cycle than in the middle of one, and we would rather plan around your schedule than have you postpone dental care indefinitely.
Should I get my wisdom teeth out first?
If they are causing trouble or likely to, getting it dealt with before a pregnancy is easier than managing it during one. If they are symptom-free and healthy, removing them for the sake of it is surgery with nothing to gain.
What about whitening or veneers?
Cosmetic treatment is the one category worth deferring. There is no urgency to it, and whitening in particular is not something to start while pregnant or breastfeeding. It will keep.