Pregnant? The dangers of poor oral health for your baby!

Maybe you never made the link. But keeping your teeth clean can have a real effect on your pregnancy. We will explain this in this blog.

As you know, the plaque that remains on our teeth is a danger to our oral health. And that can affect our physical health. Especially during pregnancy it is very important to take good care of yourself and your baby.

When you are pregnant, you have to deal with a whole new hormone balance. It are these hormones that play a major role in the development of gum inflammation. During pregnancy we call this ‘pregnancy gingivitis’. If you don’t treat inflamed gums in time, a bacterial infection will develop around the jawbone (also called periodontitis). Periodontitis can lead to loss of jaw bone in an advanced stage, which means loss of teeth.  

The relationship between periodontitis and premature birth

Periodontitis is a condition that you want to prevent at all costs, especially if you are pregnant. Certainly when you consider that research has shown that women with periodontitis are two to seven times more likely to have a premature baby or a baby with a low birth weight.

Why you have a higher risk of periodontitis. 

For this we have to look at the hormone level (the progesterone). It rises, causing some pregnant women’s gums to swell, turn red and bleed while brushing their teeth. These are actually signals from your body that you are hypersensitive to plaque and are therefore caused by an increased level of progesterone.

Fortunately, you can do something about this. Studies show that women who had their gum inflammation treated before the age of 28 weeks experienced a preterm birth in ‘only’ two percent of cases. Pregnant women who weren’t treated experienced preterm birth in ten percent of cases. A huge difference.

Use these tips for oral care during your pregnancy

• Brush twice a day and make sure you clean between your teeth at least once a day. Brushing removes 70 percent of all plaque, the remaining 30 percent with a Waterpik, stoker or brush. 
• Use a tongue cleaner to remove food debris and bacteria on the back of your tongue.  
• Use the blue®m toothpaste and additionally the mouthwash. It helps to improve the condition of the mouth and gums. 
• With a mouth spray and chewing gum containing xylitol, you keep saliva production going and thus help your body take good care of itself. 
• If you are pregnant, make an appointment with your dentist or dental hygienist at once. They can advise you and suggest an appropriate treatment.