DENTAL CARE AND PREGNANCY

It would be the happiest moment to know that you are going to be a mom. At the same time it is very important and very crucial to take at most care of your overall health which also includes your oral health.

You may have heard of an old saying “you lose a tooth for every pregnancy”. In a way that is true.  It is quite common to have dental problems during pregnancy. It is important to visit a dentist before getting pregnant. This way your overall oral health will be examined and oral health problems can be treated in advance of your pregnancy.

Most common problem faced during pregnancy is pregnancy gingivitis. Your teeth and gums are affected by pregnancy just as other tissues in your body. You may observe swollen gums, bleeding gums and it’s caused due to the bacteria that grow on teeth resulting in plaque. This plaque irritates the gums causing bleeding. This condition is termed pregnancy gingivitis.

The hormonal changes during pregnancy alter the way the body responds against the bacteria leading to gum disease. As these bacteria can enter the bloodstream, they can travel all the way down to the uterus. This can trigger the body to produce prostaglandins which control inflammation and cause smooth muscle contraction leading to premature births and low birth-weights.

If gingivitis is not treated at the earliest it may progress to a more chronic form known as periodontal disease wherein the supporting gum tissues and the bone are corroded away leading to loosening of teeth.

pregnancy gingivitis can be treated by a professional cleaning of teeth and removes plaque. In severe cases, a procedure to clean the roots of your teeth known as root planning may be required.

To prevent gum disease:

•  Brush your teeth at least 2 times a day preferably after every meal. 
• Use mouth wash and floss. If you suffer from morning sickness rinse your mouth with water to neutralize the acid caused by vomiting. 
• Your baby’s teeth begin to develop about three months into pregnancy  hence eat a healthy balanced diet rich in Vitamin B12 and C, dairy products rich in calcium and minerals that is good for baby’s teeth, gums and bone.
• Schedule routine checkups and dental cleanings.

Care to be taken during pregnancy:

• Avoid dental procedures during your first and third trimesters as these are the critical times of your 
• Baby’s growth and development.
• Avoid dental X-rays.
• Avoid antibiotics such as tetracycline which cause discoloration of your baby’s teeth.
• Any emergency dental procedures like fillings, root canal treatment or crowns are safe to be performed during your second trimester.

Be healthy and keep your baby healthy !!!!

BLEEDING GUMS

Bleeding gums is among the common conditions affecting the oral cavity. It leads to diseases of soft tissue surrounding the teeth.

The problem still continues to affect us even with so many modern facilities available in the field of oral care.

Now let me explain you the factors causing bleeding:

• Poor maintenance of the teeth such as inadequate brushing or failure to rinse the mouth after meals results in a thin layer of food and bacteria covering the tooth surface that is termed plaque and calculus that is mineralized bacterial plaque. The bacterium is the chief culprit behind the inflammation. The gums during the stage of infection becomes soft, spongy and swollen.
• Trauma to the gums by hard brushing or tooth picking with sharp objects result in gingival bleeding. 
• Bleeding can also be due to injury of the gums by sharp food item. 
• Hot food and chemicals can end up burning the gums, further resulting in bleeding. Certain rapidly spreading infections can damage the blood vessels of the gums resulting in bleeding. 
• Deficiency of Vitamin C causes problems with the blood vessels, hence causing bleeding in the gums. Ancient sailors are known to suffer from this problem until someone came up with the bright idea of stocking oranges during travel. As we know orange is a rich source of Vitamin C.

Bleeding gums may occur with or without associated pain. The pain if present is usually dull in nature.Bleeding is usually noticed during brushing or in the saliva while spitting. Eating of any coarse food items may induce bleeding.

Know how bleeding gums are treated:

If long standing inflammation is the cause of bleeding then removal of the source of bacteria will result in improvement of the situation.

Proper maintenance of the teeth by the patient reduces bleeding in initial stages. If the bleeding is severe then professional help is required. You can approach your dentist for professional cleaning of your teeth i.e scaling. You can also use medicated toothpastes that would control bleeding to some extent.