Motherly Love Digi-Mag Autumn 2022

PREGNANCY ORAL HEALTH
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PREGNANCY ORAL HEALTH
The importance of
Oral hygiene
during pregnancy
How gum disease in pregnant women can pose a risk to their
newborn babies.
Women who
develop
severe
mouth
infections and suffer from
bleeding gums when they
are pregnant have a greater
chance of delivering their
babies preterm if they
don’t treat the infection.
Up to 70% of women
develop inflammation of
the gums, or gingivitis,
during their pregnancy. It’s
commonly referred to as
pregnancy gingivitis.
This is due to the
changes in a mother’s
hormone levels during
pregnancy. This promotes
an inflammatory response
which increases the risk
of developing periodontal
disease. Periodontal
diseases are infections of
the structures around the
teeth including the gums,
ligaments, and bone. They
may cause bleeding of the
gums and in severe cases,
loss of teeth.
The challenge is
that not many mothers
seek dental treatment for
bleeding gums during
pregnancy. And antenatal
clinics pay little, if any,
attention to the mother’s
oral health status. As a
result, this complication
often goes undetected.
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