Prevention Today, Healthy Teeth Tomorrow
Schedule a dental check up and treatment before the birth of your baby. Be prepared to review the following with your dentist:
Your dental history,dental history of the baby's family,any questions you may have.
Continue good preventive dental practices with brushing and flossing.
Never use a baby walker and discourage them as gifts. If you plan on bottle feeding your baby remember to never put your child to bed with a bottle, prop in the baby's mouth, or allow the baby to feed "at will."
Maintaining your oral health in pregnancy is an integral part of good prenatal care. Many women find that their gums are sensitive and tend to bleed during pregnancy. This is due to an increase in hormone levels (estrogen and progesterone) that cause gums to swell. These change effect the way the body responds to bacteria that can cause gum disease. It is important to practice preventive dental measures (brushing and flossing) during pregnancy to avoid serious decay, which could actually harm your pregnancy and increase the likelihood of pre-term delivery.
If your gums are bleeding and painful schedule a dental visit. Don't put off dental work until after delivery, since decaying teeth can cause an infection that could harm your fetus. If you're in your first trimester x-rays will probably be deferred. There's no problem in getting local anesthesia for dental work at any time in your pregnancy and if your dentist is unsure about the medication he/she can give you, ask him to call your prenatal healthcare provider.
Antibiotics,breastfeeding,correlation between perio disease and low birth weight babies.
Necessary dental cleaning/restorations during 2nd trimester recommended.
