Pregnant At The Dentist Some More

This is a letter I sent to a dentist friend out of desperation for the tooth pain I've been having and the anxiety of dealing with it during this last stage of my pregnancy. Actually, I tried looking up the problem online and I found that a whole lot of people are going through what I'm going through... but nobody seems to have a solution.

Well, if someone reading this can tell me what to do about it, I would greatly appreciate the help.
Here's my story:

I'm having a bunch of tooth trouble and it's really bad. Also, it's turned into kind of a mystery. I've written the details out below. Would you mind having a look and seeing if you can come up with anything?

It began with what I thought was tooth pain. That was about a month ago and I was about well over 30 weeks pregnant. I was convinced that I had to get a root canal-- the pain was almost unbearable and it was radiating throughout my cheek, ear, and up to my eye sometimes. It kept me up at night. But a visit to the dentist and an x-ray showed only a regular cavity and also a clogged sinus. I went to see a doctor about the sinus pain and she prescribed Moxiphan for a bacterial infection, which I took.
By the end of the course of antibiotics, the agonizing pain had subsided, but there was still pain along my upper jaw when I ate hot or cold foods. I thought that filling the cavity would help it. I finally had my cavity filled at almost term. The pain subsided for a couple of days, though the area was very tender. Then I began having shooting pains along the top of my jaw again. Not as bad as the original sinus problem, but still enough to make me stop whatever I was doing and run to get ice whenever it happened-- which was often. The pain got steadily worse and worse until I got to the point yesterday that I couldn't even touch that tooth or chew even on the left side of my mouth in fear of accidentally hitting my painful right tooth (tooth 15?) while chewing. The food that I do chew isn't well chewed-- I can't grind food finely between my teeth because I can't completely close my jaw due to the pain. So I end up swallowing food that is not adequately chewed.
I went to the dentist today again-- the same one who did the filling a week ago. She did another x-ray to see if there as nerve damage but she said the nerve looked perfectly alright, although she still saw some fluid in the sinus. She showed the x-ray to the other dentist in the office and he also didn't see any problems with it. He suggested that perhaps I am having a rare reaction to the filling itself which my dentist told me is the gentlest one there is (P60?). If this is the case, she told me, I just have to wait it out a bit and see if it gets better. If not, the only solution is a root canal-- something she and I are very hesitant to do on what appears to be a healthy root.
In the meantime, she tried shaving a little bit off the filling to see if it would help. She had to freeze the area because the drilling was very painful for me. Then she put some kind of a fluoride coating on it which (from my understanding) is supposed to condition the filling to my tooth... or something. Keep in mind that Hebrew is a second language for both of us. She told me that rinsing with a sensitive-tooth mouth rinse that has fluoride in it might also help me (as opposed to an antibacterial mouthwash.)
As for me now, I am considering an all liquid diet. Though soup is not the ideal food in 40 degree weather.
If you have any other ideas of what the pain might be or how to solve this, I would really appreciate the help. There is the off chance that this is all somehow related to pregnancy (my dentist also said she's seen some weird stuff in pregnant women) and that it will go away after I give birth. In any case, if we do end up having any major procedures-- like a root canal-- I will definitely want to postpone it until after I give birth. If you even have ideas of how to temporarily numb it so that I can eat properly that info would also be appreciated. I've been using ice, which helps but obviously not in a long-term way.
Thanks a lot-- and I'm sorry to bug you with this, but it is really that bad.

Finally Putting My Feet Up - This Pregnant Lady Loves the Dentist

Who likes going to the dentist? My experience today took me from feelings of ambivalence to sheer pleasure... and I also enjoyed observing a bit of irony in the whole thing.

I was in the middle of giving DS a bath this evening when the dentist's office called. Uh oh. I was late for my appointment. After spending an entire day rushing about, I was looking forward to having DH put DS to sleep and spending some quality time with my computer. Instead I found myself hurrying out of the house once more.

When I got to the dentist's office, I finally had a few minutes to calm down. The room was air-conditioned, the TV was on, there were plenty of magazines to browse. The secretary wasn't angry with me. The dentist had taken someone in since I was late and I was able to take the time to refill my water bottle at the cooler and catch up on the latest television commercials. It's been so long.

Just a little too soon, the dentist's door opened. She called my name. She asked how I was doing. And then she invited me to sit down and put my feet up. I was glad to oblige.

I have had two chief complaints in this pregnancy, and especially in the last couple of weeks: edema, or big, fat, swollen feet, and sinus pain in my cheek. I just finished a round of antibiotics for my sinus pain, which was discovered by the dentist via x-ray at my last appointment. I'd originally thought it was a toothache. Well, today I took care of it all in one shot. It turns out that at least part of the pain I was feeling and attributing to sinuses was tooth pain. The dentist said that a previous filling on this same tooth had come loose and there was food in there, which might account for at least part of the terrible pain I was feeling.

But as I sat there with my fat legs raised comfortably at the end of my dentist chair and had my cheek problem taken care of at the same time, I wasn't thinking about the painful anesthetizing needle or the drill in my mouth. I reflected on how happy I was to not be washing dishes or running about or picking things off the floor. And I was very happy to be taking care of two pregnancy symptoms at once-- from my head down to my toes.

Pregnancy, Sinusitis and Me

Prior to going to the hospital yesterday, I actually had a doctor's appointment for my terrible sinus pain. (With all the hubub of having DS in the room with me, I totally forgot to ask her about the edema. If you think of it, the higher likelyhood of edema and sinus pain in pregnancy stem from the same problem-- water retention. This has definitely been a problem in this 2nd pregnancy of mine. I'm hoping that a lot of the weight I gained is just water.

My sinus pain has been excrutiating. At times it has me moaning and walking around holding my face. Tylenol provided some relief but at really bad times it just takes the edge off, it doesn't make the sinus pain go away. It's not always terrible, but when I have a flare-up, it is just horrible horrible horrible. I can't do anything. I can't sit, stand, or lie down. The pain keeps me from talking comfrotably. I can't concentrate on anything else. It wakes me up if I'm asleep. I find that it usually creeps up on me when I'm doing something that doesn't require moving my head around too much. Driving is a big culprit. So is reading. Using the computer, for some reason, isn't that bad.

Last night for the first time I tried putting ice on it. I hadn't tried it before because anything touching that side of my face when it hurts makes me feel worse. But after the initial shock of the cold, the ice actually managed to soothe the pain in the nerve running along my jaw, which is where all the sinus pain radiates from. The first thing you would try if you are not pregnant is decongestants. But they are strictly forbidden during pregnancy. I'm going to have to try some natural remedies for sinusitis such as vapor inhalation and nostril flushing. Also cutting out dairy and wheat products which contribute to the development of mucous.

Anyway, back to the doctor. I finally went to see her and she gave me antibiotics for it-- amoxicylin-- which is supposed to be safe for pregnant women, but which didn't make me any less nervous to take it. I even called my OB and confirmed with him that it was OK. It was. It is. Which made me feel slightly better about it. The truth is that I have to do SOMETHING about this sinus pain, pregnant or not, because at times it renders me completely non functional, not to mention the complete agony I feel.

Here's the irony between my leg swelling (which doesn't hurt, btw) and the sinus trouble. The radiologist who scanned me for blood clots yesterday at the hospital reminded me that if I sleep on my left side, it should help the swelling in my leg. Well, because of the sinusitis I can only lie on one side for so long before the pain starts and then I have to flip to the other side, whcih causes the pain to subside temporarily but makes my leg swell up. This doctor said that it's better even to lie on my back than to lie on my right side. That was a fist for me. EVERYONE says not to lie on your back in pregnancy. But apparently lying on your right actually blocks blood flow while lying on your left allows it. Lying on your back is only bad if it causes you discomfort. I don't have discomfort from lying on my back so I tried it out last night. It wasn't as good at relieving the pain as flipping from side to side, but I had my ice pack, and between the two, I managed to get a few good hours of sleep.

No Heartburn

Sometimes when I'm browsing through pregnancy forums online I have to stop and thank my lucky stars about some of the things I don't suffer from. Pu Pu PU. Knock on wood.

Heartburn is very common in pregnancy but I have only consumed a half package of TUMS since I first got three or four packages at the beginning of my FIRST pregnancy. and most of that half-pack was consumed by DH. I was playing it safe since my sister had heartburn REAL BAD and went through a pack a week of TUMS. I had some stomach pains that turned out to be gas (to be blunt) but not heartburn-- not that I know of.

At the end of my sister's most recent pregnancy, she was popping tylenol every day for lower back pain. Thank God I don't suffer from that either. I also never had this stupid edema that's been plaguing me last pregnancy but I guess you can't win them all.

On the other hand, last pregnancy I had a terribly itchy scalp and also ear pain. Nobody could figure out either of these things. There was seemingly no reason for the itch and nobody could see any redness in my ears. It turns out that (according to my pregnancy book-- how come the doctors didn't know?) that painful ear is associated with fluid retention. So I guess you can say that I had some symptoms of edema last pregnancy but it was nothing like what I'm going through now. Especially with the sinus trouble.

BigFoot: Edema is Me

My foot, when I stamp on it, jiggles like jelly. I didn't even bother trying my sandals on yesterday. I opted for DH's flip-flops instead. (Okay, I did try to put my foot in my sandal but I only gave it one half-hearted shove before I gave up.) My sister's sister-in-law, a nurse, discretely checked out my legs and ankles when I saw her over the weekend and she gently recommended that I keep a close eye on my blood pressure and take frequent urine tests. I sent in a pee-pee sample this morning. My blood pressure is usually on the low end of fantastic. But I'll have to get that checked out too. Sigh.

Oh yeah, I also couldn't get my rings off yesterday, though this morning it's a bit better. It was a terribly hot day yesterday, which could have accounted for a lot.

I finally made a doctor's appointment for my sinus trouble, which is also related to the excess body fluid in pregnant women. In this case the fluid is mucous. Apparently, they don't give decongestants to pregnant women although nobody is really sure why. I guess it's one of those 'not enough research done on it' kind of things. I'll have to update when I get her response. I'm hoping she'll send me to an ENT specialist because when it starts to hurt, it can be so bad as to wake me up. The pain runs along my upper and lower jaws and sometimes towards my eye and my ear. I've had a couple of flare-ups that had me in complete agony. DH thinks it'll all go away once the baby is born, but that's a long time from now. At least, it's a long time to be in agony.

Fat Feet

I've got that edema thing going again. A lovely surprise in my second pregnancy. My feet were so fat yesterday that I almost didn't recognise them. I thought it would go away when I went to sleep, but this morning I had to coax my feet into my thong sandals. I sure hope my foot size goes down after I give birth. I don't want to buy whole new set of shoes. Besides the fact that we can't currently afford it, I hate hate hate buying shoes. My feet are big anyway, and I am tall, and still they don't make decent flat shoes. How many 5"10 people do you know who want to walk around in two-inch heels all day? Or in any high shoe, for that matter?

I know the swelling should go down when the baby is born, but some people's shoe size gets permanently changed. That would bring me up to a size 11. I don't care about the number itself but shoot, have you ever tried to find a size 11 women's shoe? It's not an easy thing to do, at least not if you care about selection.

More on Pregnant With A Toothache

I started writing about being pregnant with a toothache a couple of days ago.

So I finally went to the dentist the other day. She remembered me from the last time I was there-- over a year ago when DS was only about 4 months old and demanded to nurse while I was in the dentist chair (DH was late in meeting me and taking over with him.) So I nursed in the chair while they checked me (we're all ladies here). When it was time to do a filling, they called in a young hygenist to watch him-- said she needed the practice.

Anyway, the same dentist took a look in my mouth and said it didn't look too bad. This was only partially reassuring considering the enormous pain I've been having in my jaw. I was sure I'd be needing a root canal, but she said it was just a simple cavity. She couldn't understand why the pain was so bad until.... she did an x-ray (I got my two lead aprons without even asking for it). So yes, I had my teeth x-rayed while pregnant, but it was with the reassurances of a lot of different professionals and I did it with a steady heart (I can't find the right expression to say that I wasn't worried-- is that one good?)

Anyway, the dentist looked at the x-ray and asked if I'd had a cold lately, to which I answered in the affirmative. The pain in my jaw, she said, was not from my tooth but from the sinus just above it which was all clogged up. There is a nerve runnign through that area which can make the pain feel like it's coming from the jaw or the ear or the tooth.

What a relief! But not a physical one. That evening I was having a really terrible time with the pain. I finally took acetaminophen, which I am loathe to do in the best of times and especially in pregnancy (even though there's nothing actually wrong with it at either of those times so long as you take it as prescribed.) DH looked up the sinus issue in my pregnancy book and there it was the whole time-- I never knew it. Pregnant women are more inclined towards sinus infections. Something to do with the increase in mucous production during pregnancy. In my case, it's a no brainer since I'm always prone to sinus infections. Usually, however, they're not this bad, and they feel different. Usually I get them in the upper sinuses-- where you'd call it a headache and not a cheek-ache, and the pain happens when I move my head.

Knowing where the pain is coming from did give me the advantage of knowing how to deal with it. Instead of hurting when I move, this starts to hurt when I've been sitting with my face in one position for too long. Like if I'm reading or something So all I have to do if it starts to hurt is change position. The pain goes away within minutes after that but then I have to make sure to keep switching position if I'm doing something that doesn't involve a lot of motion.

Today it feels better. Hopefully the infection has gone down and I won't have to see a doctor or get antibiotics.

More on my OB visit

I don't remember the last time I got excited about any development in my pregnancy. Usually it's just 'HOW MUCH weight did you say I gained??" or "you want to do WHICH test? And WHY?" But last night when the OB told me that the baby is turned around-- sitting on it's little fetus head in my belly-- I got happy. Dunno why. I guess it might be because I was concerned for some reason (don't pregnant women always find reason to be concerned) that the baby was breach. And why? Because I was feeling kicking from both sides of my belly, and I thought that maybe the baby was horizontal. Logical? No. Normal behavior? Yes. Other than that, most of my concerns during this 2nd pregnancy have revolved around the new one's relationship with my DS and if I'll even be able to love it. Again. Logical? No. Normal? Yes.
By the way, my husband explained that breach is not when the baby lies horizontally. That's called transverse (I had to look that up). Breach basically means that the baby hasn't turned over yet.

Pregnant with a Toothache

Painful, bleeding gums are common in pregnancy, but this is above and beyond. I am sure I have a really bad cavity or two and I am almost sure it's going to require some drastic dental work-- hopefully not a root canal! I'm really afraid of having any procedures done during while I'm pregnant and so I spoke to my OB during my visit last night. He basically said I should go for it and don't worry. If there are antibiotics involved, they will give me something appropriate. If there is an x-ray involved then they will cover me and especially my pregnant belly with a lead apron (I'm going to request three). If it requires local anesthetic, that's ok too... Not that I know what kind of dental work I'm in for, but at least his reassurance was soothing. He pointed out that there's no way I can wait two whole months to have this taken care of-- the pain has been keeping me up at night (occasionally.)

What a pain in the butt to get a dentist app on short term, though. Considering how popular they are, you'd think they were giving away balloons and toothbrushes (which they don't) instead of collecting significant dough for drilling in my mouth.
The thing I hate most about going to the dentist-- pregnant or not-- is having to keep my mouth open for a long time. It makes my skin feel all stretched out. I'll have to put on some heavy duty moisturizer.

Interestingly, my husband, who has been having a lot of pregnancy symptoms alongside me, is also having dental work done. I don't know if you can correlate his wisdom tooth extraction with whatever I am about to undergo, but it's definitely in keeping with the pattern of Couvade syndrome-- or sympathy pains felt by the husband.
Sigh.
Wish me luck!