Being Pregnant is an exceptionally exciting time span of a woman’s life. This is also when she finds herself overtly busy too. There may be multiple thoughts cruising through her mind about how things are going to be or how she can make them better. In addition, there will be so many changes happening in her body during that time and to which her mouth will be no exception. So if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, taking good care of your oral hygiene holds very high importance. As a matter of fact, the increase of various hormones in your bloodstream will leave your mouth helpless to dental problems from bacteria and plaque.
Pregnancy Gingivitis
Many women are not aware that the most common dental problem associated with pregnancy is known as pregnancy gingivitis or gum disease, which generally happens especially when it is her first pregnancy. Signs of pregnancy gum disease are:
• bleeding gums
• swollen, red and delicate gums.
Great oral wellbeing at the time of pregnancy is also imperative to your newborn’s overall health.
As a study suggested, many women are not familiar about the fact that, if they suffer from the advanced stage of gum disease, Periodontitis, it can cause premature births and/or low birth weight babies.
Increased Plaque Build-Up During Pregnancy
Pregnancy brings various changes in your body, particularly in your hormones, and this influences your oral wellbeing.
Plaque, specifically, can become opportunistic amidst this more vulnerable condition and your previous oral hygiene habits may not be sufficient for your routine dental care throughout the term of pregnancy. A routine cleaning visit at the dental office is a great way to meet your increased oral hygiene needs.
Erosion of Tooth Enamel
Another concern for some expectant moms who may suffer from the ill-effects of regular bouts of morning sickness is the erosion of tooth material. The increased measure of acid in the mouth can wreak havoc on your teeth. To help counter this, you can kill the acid present in your mouth by rinsing with a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in water. Try this for few days before brushing to minimize the cumulative effects of erosion on the enamel of your teeth.
Dental Caries
Pregnancy may result in dental caries or cavities in teeth because of these changes:
• increased acidity in the mouth,
• greater intake of sugary snacks and beverages coherent with pregnancy cravings, and
• diminished attention to prenatal oral well-being.
Dental X-Rays During Pregnancy
Always inform your dentist and the dentist’s staff that you are pregnant. It will help them to understand your current health in a better manner and to assess your potential needs. They can also make adjustments to the use of anesthetics which is used in any treatments or avoid doing x-rays until you give birth. Though radiation from dental intra-oral x-rays is very low, it is perfectly acceptable to postpone them if you are not comfortable or if your dentist recommends doing so.
Conclusion
Regular dental consideration is a key to great oral and general well-being. Sufficient proof shows that oral health care amid pregnancy is indispensable (and safe, as against myths associated with oral hygiene & pregnancy) and ought to be prescribed to enhance the oral and general health of the woman.
Enhanced oral health of the mother-to-be can strikingly diminish transmission of potentially decay-causing germs (cariogenic micro-organisms) to infants and lessen these children’s future danger of caries (by cardinal margins of 34–37%).
For many ladies, obstetrician & gynecologists are the most accessed health care professionals which creates an extraordinary chance under their guidance, to educate women at all times, including during pregnancy, about the importance of dental care and good oral hygiene habits.
