
Pregnancy and Oral Health is a fitting topic this month to talk about especially with the safe arrival of a baby boy for Tina born in January 2025. He is so cute! Tina will be on maternity leave until November 2025. Daniel was covering for her during his uni break and Tasman will be covering on Thursdays. Komal will be working on Fridays when she returns from her India trip.
Pregnancy and your gums:
With the pregnancy hormones, needing to eat multiple small meals, and feeling unwell and/or tired your gums can be more sensitive and less resilient to plaque buildup and gum disease. It is very easy to feel that you don’t want to brush and floss, however this can lead to more issues down the track. It is more important than usual to keep with the oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing morning and night.
Pregnancy and your teeth:
If you are unfortunate to be physically sick or have reflux during pregnancy then the acid attack on your teeth can be damaging to the enamel surface and root surfaces of your teeth. After you have been unwell you can rinse your mouth with water, but don’t brush your teeth for at least 30mins to allow for your mouth to return to a more neutral level and the enamel to harden. Frequent small meals and snacking will keep your mouth in an acid environment as well so the same habit applies. You can also put some toothpaste on your finger and rub around your teeth after vomiting or reflux or use an alcohol-free fluoride mouthwash.
Pregnancy and your dental appointments:
We know you now have so many extra appointments with your doctor, obstetric care, blood tests, scans etc! We would love to still see you too, and your teeth and gums would benefit from check ups too! As your gums can be extra irritated a lovely hygiene clean will help to reduce the bleeding and the possibility of bone loss from gum disease. Depending on how irritated your gums are we may need to see you a couple of times during your pregnancy. We can also check your teeth for signs of acid wear or the beginnings of decay. It is safe to take xrays if required due to the minimal radiation from our digital xrays and a lead shield. However, in a well-maintained mouth we often wait until after baby is born if it is not urgent. If we need to do dental treatment such as fillings then we often schedule these during the middle trimester more for your comfort than any other reason. It is safe to attend at any time, but the first trimester you are often feeling unwell and the third trimester it is often hard to lay flat. It is safe to have local anaesthetic for treatment during pregnancy as well. During treatment we are likely to offer you a pillow for the left side of your body to prevent baby from pressing on the major blood vessel return to your heart while you lie flat to make you more comfortable. We may also suggest some adjunct oral health care products such as tooth mousse or some mouthwashes during your pregnancy.
See you in the clinic! The Adelaide City Dental Care Team.PS: check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps! Maybe even the latest video on YouTube.
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