New mums who develop tooth infections will usually have to see their dentists in order to resolve these infections. Below are two subjects women in this situation should bring up when they visit their dental clinic.

They should let the dentist know if they are breastfeeding

It is very important for a new mum who has a tooth infection to tell her dentist if she is breastfeeding. The reason for this is as follows; if the dentist is told that a patient is breastfeeding, then they may not provide quite the same treatment that they would to a woman with an oral infection who was not nursing.

For example, when treating patients who have tooth infections, dentists will, in addition to delivering localised treatment, often prescribe antibiotics. Whilst the dentist won't necessarily decide against giving a woman antibiotics in these circumstances (as without this medicine, her tooth infection would probably spread) but they may prescribe a different kind of antibiotic. This is because when breastfeeding women consume medications, some of the medication can enter their breast milk supply, which can then lead to their babies ingesting tiny quantities of it. As such, when presented with this type of patient, a dentist may prescribe an antibiotic that they knew would be safe for the woman's baby to consume in very small amounts.

Alternatively, if the dentist believes that the woman's tooth infection will only heal if she takes a specific antibiotic, which is not suitable for infants to ingest, they might advise the women to change her feeding routine until after she has finished the antibiotics. She could do this by, for example, expressing enough milk to feed her infant for the week that it takes her to finish her antibiotics or by giving them formula instead.

They should tell the dentist if they're doing a lot of night-time snacking

The other thing that a new mum in this situation should tell her dentist is if she has started snacking more at night since having her baby. For example, because lots of new mums find it hard to wake up and feed their infant multiple times a night, they may, during these periods, snack on chocolate to give themselves some energy.

This is something that the patient's dentist will need to know, as it is possible that these midnight snacks might have contributed to her tooth infection (if the infection developed because of serious tooth decay). In these circumstances, the dentist might instruct the patient to keep a mini toothbrush and a glass of water in the nursery where they feed their infant, as this would allow her to give her teeth a quick scrub after eating chocolate, without having to go to the bathroom (which might upset the baby). The dentist might also tell this new mum to keep a few snacks in the nursery (like nuts or jarred olives) that have less sugar than chocolate and which won't, therefore, lead to her getting more tooth infections.

If you have any dental concerns, contact a dentist office like Everyday Dental Care.