Can I go to the dentist while fasting?

Detailed answer

Yes. According to most contemporary scholars, dental treatment does not break your fast, as long as you do not deliberately swallow water, blood, medicine or filling material. You can have a check-up, a cleaning, a filling or even an extraction during the day.

Why it does not break the fast

The fast is broken by deliberately taking food or drink into the stomach. Water used by the dentist, the taste of materials and small traces that slip down without your choice do not count, in the same way that rinsing the mouth in wudu does not break the fast. Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear (Al-Baqarah 2:286).

Common treatments

• Check-ups and X-rays: do not break the fast.
• Scale and polish, fillings and root canal treatment: allowed. Ask for suction, and spit out water and debris.
• Local anaesthetic injection: does not break the fast, because it is not food or drink; see injections.
• Extractions: allowed. Spit out blood rather than swallowing it. Bleeding in the mouth does not itself break the fast.
• Mouth rinses: spit them out completely; see mouthwash.

What if something goes down my throat?

If a little water or blood slips down without you meaning it, your fast remains valid. Swallowing on purpose would break it.

When to book after iftar instead

For longer procedures, such as surgical extractions, or if you will need painkillers or antibiotics by mouth, it is often easier to book an evening appointment, or to wait until after Ramadan if the treatment is not urgent. If you are in pain, or the dentist says the treatment cannot wait, go ahead. Dental pain or infection counts as illness, and you may break the fast to take medicine and make up the day later.

Tips

• Tell your dentist you are fasting so they can use suction and avoid unnecessary rinsing.
• Brush your teeth after suhoor; see brushing teeth while fasting.
• Drink well at night, as a dry mouth can make your teeth and gums more sensitive.