What to Know About Dental Care During Pregnancy?

Dental health is essential to care for your overall health. It is also critical to your prenatal care. You will likely receive a referral for routine dental checkups during your first prenatal visit. You are responsible for ensuring you attend dental visits.

Pregnancy enhances the risks of specific dental health issues that might result in pregnancy complications like premature birth. Therefore, if you are concerned about your dental health, it helps to see the Emerson dentist immediately for routine dental checkups.

How Does Pregnancy Affect Dental Health?

As mentioned earlier, dental care helps ensure your overall health remains optimal. During pregnancy, dental care becomes an essential part of prenatal care. As pregnancy enhances the risk of oral health issues, the problems can affect your pregnancy. For instance, studies indicate links between gum disease and premature childbirth. Preterm childbirth is detrimental for babies because they may develop more health problems later. However, caring for your mouth, teeth, and gums during pregnancy can help you with a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Pregnancy induces changes in your body that affect your teeth and gums. Enhanced levels of estrogen and progesterone during pregnancy increase your risk of oral health issues. Changes in your eating habits can also affect your dental health. Morning sickness may cause you to brush and floss less frequently than before pregnancy. The described modifications enhance the risks of the below-described dental problems during pregnancy.

• Cavities: Cavities are tiny damaged areas on tooth surfaces. You become vulnerable to cavities during pregnancy, and you can pass the bacteria responsible for cavities to your baby during pregnancy and after birth. The bacteria can cause problems for your baby later.
• Gingivitis: the inflammation of your gums, including redness and bleeding, is called gingivitis. If left untreated, gingivitis can progress to severe periodontitis. Your risks of gingivitis are enhanced during pregnancy, and the optimal technique to avoid the complications of gingivitis is to visit the dental clinic near you for dental checkups to help to remove accumulated dental plaque and tartar on your teeth.

Signs and Symptoms of Dental Issues during Pregnancy

If you observe the signs and symptoms of dental problems during your pregnancy, you should call the Emerson dental clinic or ask your prenatal care provider to refer you to a dentist. Dental problems can arise in varying forms and differ between patients. However, the symptoms may include lousy breath, loose teeth, mouth sores or lumps on gums, new gaps between teeth, receiving gums, red and swollen gums that bleed, and toothaches.

If you have discomfort or swelling in the mouth, you must contact the Emerson dentist immediately to receive the needed treatment and prevent problems for the baby.

How to Prevent Dental Problems during Pregnancy?

If you plan to get pregnant, you must get regular dental checkups and remain determined to continue the habit during your pregnancy. During your appointment with your dentist, you must inform them about your pregnancy and any medications you take, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, and herbals. Dental care before and during pregnancy is essential because it enables the dentist to identify and treat dental problems early. In addition, regular cleanings also help keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Helpful Tips to Prevent Dental Problems during Pregnancy

You can prevent dental problems during pregnancy by following the below-mentioned steps.

• Brushing: you must incorporate twice-daily brushing using a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste to ensure the removal of plaque and keep your teeth and gums healthy. If you find brushing challenging because of morning sickness, rinse your mouth and brush after 30 minutes. Do not try taking any medications for morning sickness without advice from your prenatal care provider or the dentist.
• The dentist suggests eating healthy foods and limiting your intake of sweetened foods because it helps provide your baby with essential nutrients. Your baby starts developing teeth between three and six months of pregnancy, and nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, protein, and vitamins A, C, and D help your baby to develop healthy teeth.
• Quit smoking if you do to care for yourself and the baby’s health. The Emerson dentist can help you with cessation techniques if you need assistance.

If you require dental treatments during pregnancy, you can safely receive them from dentists by informing them about your pregnancy to ensure they create a tailor-made treatment plan. Unfortunately, if you need elective treatments like teeth whitening or veneers, the dentist recommends postponing these therapies until after the baby’s birth.

If you are pregnant and want to know how to maintain dental care during your pregnancy, a meeting with Emerson Family Dental will help get you the information you need. Call the dental practice today for an appointment to learn how to maintain oral health during pregnancy.