My wife found out last night that she needs to have surgery to remove all of her wisdom teeth, because they are impacted.  The surgeon is going to try to work her in as soon as possible.  Of course to do the surgery, they are going to probably give her anesthesia.  There is a possibility that she could be pregnant, but it will still be a little while before we know for sure.  If she is pregnant, would the anesthesia hurt the baby?  Or would the anesthesia hurt her changes of becoming pregnant in any way in the future?  

Thanks ladies for any help that you can provide.

It can't be more than a couple of weeks before you find out if she IS pregnant.  You could always wait and see if she is, and hold off on the surgery until you find out.  If she is, then call an OB/GYN and see what he/she has to say about it.  

ETA: I'm not sure, but I don't think anesthesia has any bearing on becoming pregnant.  Again, call the doc and ask.  It's the only way to be sure.

I agree with the above poster.
Also tell your dentist!! They are experieinced with this type of thing.
Call the OBGYN and confirm what type of anesthesia she can have just in case.
No, anesthesia does not effect future pregnancy chances. But might effect this one if she is preggers.
Must talk to both drs.

good luck...Let us know... Pregnancy is great!!!!

joyce

<---dental student.

anesthesia will not hurt the baby.  They will most likely use Lidocaine, or carbocaine...local anesthesias are local...not systemic...there are no contra-indications with pregnancy.

ALso the dentist may want to take additional xrays...although most likely already has current xrays to work from.  DOnt worry about those either.


edited to add...make sure your tell your surgeon however, of the possibility of pregnancy.  the docs should always be armed with as much knowledge as possible.

Is she having complications with her wisdom teeth?  If not, I would wait to have them out if I were pregnant.  All doctors and dentists that I have been to will only take x-rays in emergency situations when I was pregnant.

Both the doctor and dentist should be fully aware of the entire situation so that they can determine what your wife should do and when.

When I had oral surgery to remove my impacted wisdom teeth, it was done under general anesthesia not local.  Plus she will have to consider taking pain medication after the oral surgery.  The pain meds I took were pretty strong - I would not take them while pregnant unless it was absolutely necessary.

Best to check with the doc to be sure of exactly what they are using and the possible effects.

Side note but along the same lines - they are pretty well protected while in womb: When I was 7 months pregnant with my daughter I had to have a medicated stress test done since (what turned out to be a false positive...) they saw an ST depression on my EKG when I went in for pre-term labor. I demanded that I had a spearate monitor on the baby to reassure me that the medication didn't elevate her heart rate as well. It never did and all was well with my heart.

She is really not having many problems with her teeth, except for the gums hurting every now and then because they are spilting to allow the teeth to come up, but they are impacted so nothing happens and they heal up for a while, only one of her teeth has acutally broken through the rest are in trouble.

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful information.

WAIT!  No X-rays for sure.  My dentist wouldn't even replace a broken cap on a tooth when I was pregnant.  Also, if she is going in for surgery that would knock her out, that would be systemic.  But... be extra careful to have the wife checked out later in her pregnancy for high blood pressure (eclampsia).  

When I was pregnant, I needed pain medicine for severe pain.  They had to write something that was okay for a pregnant woman, of which I only took 1/2 dose at a time.  I could only justify taking the medicine by acknowledging that my fear/stress hormones were probably doing greater damage.  

Quoted: WAIT!  No X-rays for sure.

hogwash.  Your doctor may however choose to only allow xrays during pregnancy in an emergency situation.  Dental Xrays during pregancy have not been proven to be any significant risk to the unborn child.