When you decide to have a child, you understand that the body goes through some pretty significant changes during pregnancy. With this unfortunately comes a significant increase in the risk of periodontal disease.
Today, your Livonia, MI dentist writes about how you can best protect your smile during this time.
Your Risk Of Periodontal Disease
Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is a serious infection of the mouth’s gums. This is usually a bacterial infection, and is a leading cause of tooth loss in Americans. If ignored, this infection can grow beyond the gums, and cause decay in the bone of the jaw.
Periodontal disease is most commonly preceded by gingivitis. Gingivitis is essentially a milder infection of the gums, and it is often caused by poor oral health regimens.
Swelling and redness of the gums are the typical symptoms of gingivitis, with patients often reporting tenderness as well. The next symptom that patients usually experience is seeing blood while brushing the teeth. Individuals may justify this as overaggressive brushing, but healthy gums are fairly durable. It’s much more likely that this is the result of bacterial growth.
Every Part Of Your Body Is Changing
The body makes some pretty incredible changes throughout the course of a pregnancy. Our hormonal shifts can also leave an expecting mother more vulnerable to plaque buildup on the enamel of our teeth.
And the body doesn’t wait very long to get started on these changes! Nearly immediately after conception, your body starts to prepare. Dentists typically like to see pregnant mothers in either the 2nd or 3rd trimester.
The risk of periodontal disease increases significantly between the 2nd and 8th month of pregnancy. Any advice your dentist gives you should be followed with rigor.
What Is The Best Way To Care For Pregnant Teeth?
Thankfully, maintaining healthy gums during pregnancy does not take much more effort than a traditional regimen. The significance is elevated, however. The risks are also greater.
A twice-daily tooth brushing routine alongside daily flossing and an oral rinse are the biggest factors in a healthy mouth. It is important to brush after eating any food at night, and that means after every late night snack. This is something seen often with pregnant patients.
An adequate diet is also highly important in keeping the gums healthy. With a child growing inside you, your nutrients are shared with another being, and your body becomes an afterthought to the child.
We need a level of nutrition to be able to fight off infection, and during pregnancy, even more so Our mouths are a gateway for bacteria, essentially the largest weakness our body has. A healthy selection of fruits and vegetables help our body to have the weapons it needs so that it can protect our system against bacterial intruders.
ABOUT YOUR LIVONIA, MI, DENTIST:
James Stewart, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, MI, as well as Farmington Hills, Farmington, Plymouth, Northville, Novi, Dearborn Heights, Dearborn, Garden City, Westland, Redford, and the surrounding communities. To schedule a consultation, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.