I am 6 weeks pregnant and need to have an emergency root canal done to stop the infection. is there much risk to the baby?

Unknown: Unknown because control studies are not done with many of the local anesthetics, antibiotics and other meds used in root canal therapy in the first trimester of pregnancy.. If possible, i prefer to wait till the fourth month to perform treatment. There are a few older medications used for years that are known to be safe.

Minimal: There is always risk to a fetus when infection is present. Much of that depends on the size, area of infection, and types of microorganisms present. If your infection is severe then antibiotics should be used in conjunction with treatment of the tooth. This should be discussed with the treating doctor of course. It is better to treat and get rid of the infection during pregnancy than to wait.

No: I have performed root canal fo 40 yrs on women at all stages of pregnancy. Local anesthesia is very safe an the procedure is no more dangerous than a filling. Before an antibiotic is used, i recommend approval from your obgyn. It's more dangerous to wait and do nothing. Infections can be harmful to mom and fetus.