Triamcinolone acetonide (oral mucosal)

Pregnancy Category C Teratogenic effects Triamcinolone acetonide has been shown to induce teratogenic effects in several species. In mice and rabbits, triamcinolone acetonide induced an increased incidence of cleft palate at dosages of approximately 120 µg/kg/day and 24 µg/kg/day, respectively (approximately 12 times and 10 times the amount in a typical daily human dose of triamcinolone acetonide dental paste when compared following normalization of the data on the basis of body surface area estimates, respectively).

In monkeys, triamcinolone acetonide induced cranial skeletal malformations at the lowest dosage studied (500 µg/kg/day), which was approximately 200 times the amount in a typical daily human dose of triamcinolone acetonide dental paste when compared following normalization of the data on the basis of body surface area estimates. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. However, a retrospective analysis of birth defects among children born to mothers that used drugs of the same class as triamcinolone acetonide dental paste (corticosteroids) during pregnancy found an approximately 3 times increased incidence of cleft palate.

Triamcinolone acetonide dental paste should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Nursing Mothers It is not known whether oral application of corticosteroids could result in sufficient systemic absorption to produce detectable quantities in breast milk. Caution should be exercised when corticosteroid-containing dental pastes are prescribed for a nursing woman.