The key word: preventive dentistry
Many women start preparing for motherhood even before pregnancy. We change our diet, pay attention to our vitamin intake, revise the components of our beauty products and we try to eliminate stress from our life. We should prepare for the changes in our bodies that may affect our dental hygiene as well. Prevention is always the best way to avoid possible dental problems. We suggest seeing your dentist for a check-up before pregnancy, as teeth and gum problems may affect the health of our fetus. If we have any dental problems, it is best to get treatment prior pregnancy, as it may risk the health of our baby if performed in the first or last trimester of pregnancy. We can prevent possible dental problems if we keep good oral hygiene habits and by visiting our dentist regularly for check-up.
What to pay attention to during pregnancy
Regular brushing and flossing of teeth is especially important while pregnant! But what problems may we face?
Sensitive gums during pregnancy
Our gums may get sensitive during pregnancy. Gum inflammation and bleeding may occur due to increased plaque. However, this is no reason to get frightened – our dental health can be retained even during pregnancy. We should consider choosing a softer toothbrush if we experience sensitiveness or bleeding of gums. It is recommended to replace our toothbrush every second month for the sake of our oral hygiene. Brush your teeth for two minutes with circular motion. Don’t forget to wait for half an hour after finishing your meal, as your mouth needs time to restore its ph level. We should also not forget about keeping the interdental space clean to prevent or to ease the symptoms of gum inflammation. Use an interdental toothbrush or floss your teeth regularly!
Acid in the mouth?
Regular oral care also helps to prevent the development of tooth decay. Morning sickness and vomiting is common during among pregnant woman, but the stomach acids getting into your mouth have a bad effect on its ph level. We should never brush our teeth directly after vomiting! Always rinse your mouth with water first, and wait a bit before using your toothbrush. We recommend seeing your dentist for plaque removal and dental cleaning! Hardened dental plaque is actually a mass of bacteria, which should be removed every 6 month to prevent tooth decay and to protect the natural ph level of the mouth from its acidic by-products. These treatments are risk-free anytime during pregnancy. We can avoid tooth decay and damage of tooth enamel with a health conscious diet, containing less acidic and sugary food. We can also contribute to the prevention of childhood tooth decay with consuming enough vitamins and calcium!
Oral care products during pregnancy
We should consider the choice of our oral care products while pregnant. Allowing for our increased hormone level, we can discuss the components right for our body with our dentist as well. We would suggest choosing alcohol-, clorhexidin and triclosan free products during pregnancy and breast-feeding as well.
Dental treatment during pregnancy
Many women have doubts about the safety of dental treatment during pregnancy. Although we should aim to visit the dentist and receive treatment for possible dental problems before pregnancy, we should not panic in case we meet an unexpected situation. If experiencing pain, we should always seek out our dentist’s help – but we must not forget to mention our pregnancy! We recommend postponing not urgent dental treatments post giving birth. However, in some cases a smaller intervention may prevent a dental problem with greater risks. Some problems may get worse with time passing, so we should seek out our dentist’s help after the first symptoms!
We should try to limit our medications during pregnancy. We should always consult with our doctor about our choice of medication if we experience pain! We do not recommend medication containing salicylic acid or ibuprofen, especially in the first and last trimester of pregnancy.
Wisdom teeth during pregnancy
We should try to avoid x-ray and stronger anaesthetics. As treatment of wisdom teeth requires the usage of both, it is favourable if we can treat the problem before pregnancy. We should not panic even if there is no way to avoid the treatment during pregnancy though. There are anaesthetics that do not endanger the healthy development of the fetus.
Let us plan ahead!
The serenity of the mother is very important for the healthy development of the fetus. We can decrease the number of possible problems and stress factors if we prepare for our pregnancy in advance. But how should we plan? We will show you!
Calendar: Pregnant women at the dentist’s
- Dental care in the first trimester: The first trimester of pregnancy is the most hazardous period regarding the health of the fetus. Unless it is an emergency, we do not recommend any dental treatment for this time period.
- Dental treatment in the second trimester: The second trimester is most suitable for receiving dental treatment. We should time our check-up and plague removal for this period.
- Dental care in the third trimester: Like the second trimester, the first part of the third trimester is safe for dental treatment. However, we do not recommend any dental treatment for the second part of the trimester considering the health of the baby. Package deal for expectant and new mothers