{"id":773,"date":"2017-03-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/pregnancy-affects-oral-health-2\/"},"modified":"2017-03-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T00:00:00","slug":"pregnancy-affects-oral-health-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/pregnancy-affects-oral-health-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How Pregnancy Affects Your Oral Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistryblog.socialmediafordentistry2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/91\/2017\/03\/How-Pregnancy-Can-Affect-Oral-Health-2017_543.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1356\" \/>  <strong>PREGNANCY AFFECTS NEARLY<\/strong> every aspect of your life\u2013your lifestyle, your diet, your health, and much more! Your mouth is no exception to the changes your body may experience during pregnancy. During this special time, you\u2019ll need to pay particular attention to your oral health for both your sake and your growing baby\u2019s. <\/p>\n<h3><strong>You May Be More Prone To Dental Problems<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> <strong>One of the main concerns we have for expectant mothers is what we call pregnancy gingivitis.<\/strong> Around <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acog.org\/Resources-And-Publications\/Committee-Opinions\/Committee-on-Health-Care-for-Underserved-Women\/Oral-Health-Care-During-Pregnancy-and-Through-the-Lifespan\">40 percent<\/a> of pregnant women have some form of gum disease\u2013gingivitis being the first stage. Because of raised hormone levels during pregnancy, you may be more sensitive to dental plaque than before, causing your gums to be sensitive, swell and bleed. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acog.org\/Resources-And-Publications\/Committee-Opinions\/Committee-on-Health-Care-for-Underserved-Women\/Oral-Health-Care-During-Pregnancy-and-Through-the-Lifespan\">Studies<\/a> have linked mothers with gum disease to premature delivery and lower birth weights.  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GhwW9Y9E5lA?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>  In about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acog.org\/Resources-And-Publications\/Committee-Opinions\/Committee-on-Health-Care-for-Underserved-Women\/Oral-Health-Care-During-Pregnancy-and-Through-the-Lifespan\">five percent<\/a> of pregnancies, <strong>women may experience lumps along the gum line and in between teeth<\/strong>. Luckily, these swellings are harmless and usually go away after baby is born. Even though these are known as \u201cpregnancy tumors,\u201d there is no need to be alarmed as they are not cancerous and can be easily removed by your dentist.  <strong>Morning sickness can also cause dental woes for expectant mothers.<\/strong> Pregnant women often complain of sensitive gag reflexes and even routine tasks such as brushing and flossing can induce vomiting. Exposure to acid, especially strong stomach acid, can lead to tooth enamel erosion, decay and sensitivity. After vomiting, we recommend rinsing your mouth out with a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with water to neutralize stomach acid and prevent any damage to teeth. <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Protect Your Teeth During Pregnancy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> To protect your teeth during pregnancy, <strong>one of\u00a0<\/strong><strong>your first stops should be the dentist\u2019s office<\/strong>. If you are planning on getting pregnant, talk to your dentist beforehand so you can fix any dental issues before conceiving. And when you do find out that you are pregnant, don\u2019t just go to your OB\/GYN, make your way to the dentist\u2019s as well!  <strong>Routine cleanings and checkups are safe during pregnancy<\/strong>, and as you may be more susceptible to certain dental problems at this time, getting frequent cleanings is a must. You will also need to be diligent about your oral hygiene at home. As always, brush at least twice a day and floss daily.  Another thing to remember is that your diet matters. <strong>Did you know that baby\u2019s teeth start developing between the third and sixth months of pregnancy?<\/strong> You will need plenty of nutrients\u2013specifically vitamins A, C and D, protein, calcium and phosphorous\u2013to make sure their teeth, gums and bones develop properly. <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Mothers, We Are Here For You<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Pregnancy can bring with it a lot of change and responsibility, but we want our patients to know that we are here for you. <strong>We want to make sure that your dental health is taken care of so you can focus on preparing for your little one to come into the world.<\/strong> So whether you\u2019re planning on becoming pregnant or already are, we\u2019d love to see you in our office! <\/p>\n<h4>Our patients mean the world to us!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image by Flickr user <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/phalinn\/8364089561\" target=\"_blank\">Phalinn Ooi<\/a><\/span> used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>PREGNANCY AFFECTS NEARLY<\/strong> every aspect of your life\u2013your lifestyle, your diet, your health, and much more! Your mouth is no exception&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176,273,274],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-dental-posts","category-general-dental","category-176","category-273","category-274","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}