Hello!

I am feeding an 18 month old, he will be 20 months when I have my wisdom teeth removed. He will not take a bottle and he isn’t to keen on drinking breastmilk in anything other than from the boob, I’m not weaning any time soon as he is boobie obsessed! However I desperately need 3 wisdom teeth removed and the dentist is urging me to stop feeding for 3 days and pump and dump which I can’t do as I don’t respond well to a pump. I need to know what breastfeeding friendly pain relief I can take? Asking for experienced mothers who were breastfeeding and had their wisdom teeth removed for their experience please and thank you


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  • Check with your chemist there are some mouth numbing mouth washes you might be able to use.


  • My friend had this issue a few months back. There’s heaps of safe pain relief while breastfeeding. I had a c section under GA and was on paracetamol, ibuprofen, and endone after and was breastfeeding so I don’t see why you couldn’t take those and still breastfeed.


  • I would ask you gp. Otherwise Panadol


  • I took out my wisdom teeth and was given keflex to avoid infection and just took panadol. I formed a bad infection and needed stronger antibiotics and had to formula feed my son from it as he did not want breastmilk from the bottle but took to formula. Don’t know if that helps but be careful.


  • You should NOT take ibuprofen or asprin or anything similar after having teeth removed – due to the risk of bleeding. These meds are called NSAIDS and they reduce the ability of the blood to clot. LAST thing you want after having wisdom teeth out. Blood being able to form a clot in the space where the teeth have been taken out is crucial in the healing process.
    It prevents dry socket and many other complications.

    Definitely get advice from your GP as they know you & your medical history best.

    I’d recommend panadol as the only over the counter. But a Dr will also know of stronger painkillers you could possibly take while still breastfeeding. I know most painkillers say not to take when pregnant or BF, but there are a few which are safe to take and especially when only taken for a short time. And can still BF without affecting bub.

    I’ve known myself, and other mums who’ve had to rely on prescription painkillers after c-section or in my case spinal surgery and we were still able to BF. ONLY after checking with your doctor though. They will know.

    Another idea, as your bub will be 20 months old – could a sippy cup work if won’t take bottle?
    I know you said bub is reluctant, but if given no other option then a sippy cup and at that age they can kind of reason a bit more to understand it’s a sippy cup or none at all. (More so than a 9/10 month old or 1 yr old if that makes sense!) By 20 months, bubs food intake will mostly be solids, so even tho breastmilk is still important and still has so many benefits, try not to stress as much about BF. If you can pump still and freeze? (Assuming bub will refuse anything other than breast and if you can find a safe painkiller so don’t have to pump & dump)

    Wisdom teeth definitely hurt after being taken out, so you will need something. And lots of ice packs to your face, and soft foods.
    All the best.


  • Sorry can’t help you. I had one removed while breastfeeding and was in pain for 4 weeks as I couldn’t take any medication.


  • I would go for iBuprofen. Don’t take Aspirin, acetominophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofin (Motrin, Advil) are not known to have any negative effects on nursing babies.
    From my experience the pain of wisdom teeth removal doesn’t last that long. I remember just 3 days of some degree of discomfort after which it faded.
    Also your baby isn’t that young anymore, which makes a difference.
    Nursing women can take ibuprofen up to the daily maximum dose without any negative impact on them or their children. One older study from 1984 found that mothers who took 400 milligrams (mg) of ibuprofen every six hours passed less than 1 mg of the medicine through their breast milk. For comparison, a dose of infant-strength ibuprofen is 50 mg.
    Even though ibuprofen is safe to take while breastfeeding, you should take no more than the maximum dose. You could use ice packs or pop an ice cube in your mouth too.
    https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/ibuprofen-breastfeeding


  • I would strongly recommend checking with your GP. I suspect that given your son’s age, panadol would be okay. I don’t know if that’s strong enough for your needs, though.


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