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Dental Hygiene

Ultrasonics used on patients who are pregnant

10/09/2008

Question:

Hi, I`m a dental hygienist, and my question is this: Is it safe to use ultrasonic scalers on pregnant women? I attended a seminar several yrs ago which was conducted by a periodontist. He said that ultrasonic scalers shouldn`t be used on pregnant women. But I`ve never heard anything like that from any other source, and no one I`ve talked to (dentist or hygienist) has heard anything like that either. Can you enlighten me?

Answer:

The newest textbooks by two authorities in Dental Hygiene, Esther Wilkins and Michele Darby, do not mention avoiding ultrasonic scaling on pregnant patients. There are other contraindications but that was not one. I have not seen anything in print about pregnancy as a contraindication for ultrasonic scaling.

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Response by:

Constance R Kuntupis, RDH, MA Constance R Kuntupis, RDH, MA
Clinical Associate Professor of Dental Radiology
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University