normally i love the dentist. it is usually such a great experience for me. well, not this past trip to the dentist. and it had nothing to do with the state of my teeth. it had everything to do with the fact that i am pregnant. see,when you are pregnant, the doctor tells you to avoid laying on your back since there is the largest vein in your body running up the back of your abdominal cavity and if the baby is putting pressure on that vein (by the fact that you are laying on your back and gravity is pulling the baby down against that vein), you could lose bloood flow to your brain. So keeping that in mind- here is what transpired at the dentist yesterday to cause me to have a not so good visit. After barely getting to sit down in the waiting read one page of "Real Simple" I got called back into the cleaning room. I say hello to the hygienist, she asks how far a long I am, if it is a girl or boy, etc. Then I sit in the chair and she proceeds to tilt the chair pretty far back so she can clean my teeth. It is during this time that the doctor's warning about not being flat on your back comes to mind. but then I figure, well, i am sure they have had pregnant people before at the dentist, so i am sure they know what they are doing. apparently, that was not true. after a few mins of this position, i start to feel really dizzy, the lights start going in and out, i can't hear people's voices very well, i am sweating profusely and room starts closing in on me. thankfully, she was switching out utensils (or whatever the things are they use to clean your teeth), so I quickly sat up and said something to the effect of "i don't feel so good, I think it is because I am pregnant" to which she said "oh are you having morning sickness? did you eat breakfast this monring? I think you should lie back down" and I tried to respond but wasn't very coherent but I also knew that I wasn't going to lie down, that was what caused the problem in the first place. so I remember her running to get the dentist. He came in and took one look at me and said "get her some oxygen and crank it up!" so they turn on the oxygen full blast and put the mask on me and after about 30 seconds, I started to feel much better. He even took the little air blaster they use for your teeth and blasted off my neck and face to help me stop sweating. Then he proceeded to explain to the hygientist how the baby can cut off the blood supply to my brain if I am too reclined. They let me just sit and recover for about 20 mins and then after that, he came in to check out my teeth (in the upright position) and said "yeah, they look fine, there is no point in continuing today, just come back in six months" which I was very glad to hear. I later called my OB and talked to the nurse just to make sure it was only my blood supply that got cut off and not the baby's. She said no worries, and he has been moving around a lot since so I think all is ok. Moral of the story- do not go to the dentist when you are 34 weeks pregnant (even though they tell you dental hygiene is important while you are pregnant). Just wait till the baby is on the outside and your mom or friend can watch him while you have a more pleasurable time at the dentist!
