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Your Oral Health During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time of overwhelming changes to the female body. From the lustrous hair to the swollen ankles, it seems no part of the body is left unaltered during the nine months prior to birth. Unfortunately, the mouth is no exception. Many women find that pregnancy brings with it some unwelcome changes to their oral health.
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“Morning Sickness”
In the first trimester especially, most women will experience some level of nausea and vomiting. This situation is usually blamed on changing hormones, and may be infrequent or severe. There’s no way to predict which women (and which pregnancy) will experience morning sickness, so it tends to vary quite a bit from woman to woman. If you are one of the lucky few who have never experienced this, keep reading anyway—you’ll be better prepared in case it happens to you!
While nausea itself doesn’t threaten your oral health, vomiting certainly does. The presence of stomach acids in the mouth, even briefly, can erode tooth enamel and create a more acidic environment that leads to tooth decay.
What can you do to prevent damage to your teeth? While your first instinct after vomiting may be to brush your teeth, you should wait at least 30 minutes before doing this. Brushing immediately after vomiting can push the acids deeper into your enamel, like scouring a sink with a harsh cleaner. Instead, rinse the mouth with water and have a glass of milk. Milk can help neutralize the acid residue on your teeth, and bring the pH level back to normal. Cheese can also help protect your teeth after vomiting, if that sounds more appetizing than milk. In fact, eating anything (or chewing sugarless gum, at the very least) will stimulate the production of saliva, which is far more helpful in neutralizing acid than doing nothing.
If you find yourself vomiting enough to mention it to your doctor, take the time to speak with your dentist about it, as well. There are treatments we can provide to help keep your teeth strong and healthy despite frequent exposure to stomach acids.
Flossing and Gum Inflammation
Another effect of those changing hormones is that the gums may become more sensitive to stimuli. The simple act of flossing may provoke swelling and bleeding in the gingival tissues, which can make basic oral hygiene extremely painful. This situation can turn into a hopeless cycle of problems if you aren’t careful. When flossing causes gum inflammation, you may be tempted to stop doing it and give the gums a few days to heal—but this is actually the worst thing you can do! When you stop flossing, you give bacteria the opportunity to colonize the gum tissue, which can lead to further inflammation and the onset of gum disease.
Instead, if you notice your gums becoming more sensitive to routine oral hygiene, switch to an alternate form of flossing. Instead of using loose floss, consider using a water flosser or an end-tufted brush. These tools can clean between the teeth and gums as efficiently as string floss, with less risk of irritating the gingival tissues.
Sensitive Gag Reflex
Another symptom of morning sickness is that it can make your gag reflex more sensitive. Some women find themselves coughing and gagging when they try to brush their teeth, due to the strong flavor of the toothpaste and the presence of the toothbrush at the back of the mouth. If this happens to you, do yourself a favor and change your oral hygiene tools!
A toothbrush with a smaller brush head may be less likely to trigger this response and a milder flavored toothpaste may be more tolerable. Some women find that a child-size toothbrush and fluoride-containing children’s toothpaste are ideal for this point in their pregnancy. Toothpastes made for sensitive teeth, such as Sensodyne and Pronamel, may also have a milder flavor.
Visit our Fort Wayne dental office to Learn More About Pregnancy and Oral Health
If you are pregnant, it’s recommended you schedule a dental visit during the first trimester. This can help you learn more about the changes that may occur in your mouth during pregnancy and help prevent potential damage. Contact our Fort Wayne, IN dental office online or by calling (260) 432-0561.
