Dental experts now recommend that pregnant women have an examination to check for gum disease.
Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that a healthy mouth improves the likelihood of a problem-free pregnancy.
| "Pregnant women who have periodontal disease may be seven times more likely to have a baby that is born too early and too small. More research is needed to confirm how periodontal disease may affect pregnancy outcomes. It appears that periodontal disease triggers increased levels of biological fluids that induce labor." |
|
Preterm Low Birth Weight Births
The American Academy of Periodontology |
Increased hormone levels during pregnancy may change how a woman's gums respond to bacteria. Similar hormonal changes can affect girls during puberty, and women who take oral contraceptives.
Women receiving treatment for gum disease should also let dental offices know if they are taking birth control pills, because antibiotics used to treat gum disease can make some oral contraceptives less effective.
| "Women have oral health needs and considerations that men don't have, writes Barbara Steinberg, DDS, in the September 2000 Journal of the California Dental Association. She writes that women's hormonal fluctuations have a surprisingly strong influence on the oral cavity. Puberty, menses, pregnancy, menopause and the use of oral contraceptives all influence women's oral health and the way a dentist should approach treatment, Steinberg writes. Eating disorders also affect the oral cavity, she writes." |
|
Women's Life Cycles May Affect Oral Tissues
Dental Editor's Digest |
Also, women's hormones may affect mouth function in ways besides gum inflammation.
| "One reason you perhaps see dry mouth more commonly in your female patients is because they may be experiencing hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and menopause or the symptoms could be the result of the continual use of oral contraceptives." |
|
"Dry-mouth symptoms in women"
Barbara J. Steinberg, DDS |
Not all pregnant women will experience the swelling, bleeding, redness or tenderness in the gum tissue that signals gingivitis. However, those who do have several possible reasons to visit a periodontist.
| "About half of women experience pregnancy gingivitis. However, women with no gingivitis prior to pregnancy are unlikely to experience pregnancy gingivitis... In some cases, gums swollen by pregnancy gingivitis can react strongly to the bacteria in plaque and form large lumps. These growths, called pregnancy tumors, are not cancerous and generally painless. They usually disappear after pregnancy, but if the tumor persists, it may require removal by a periodonist." |
|
"Baby your oral health during pregnancy"
The American Academy of Periodontology |