Our grandmothers used to say: I lost so many teeth because I had so many children!
What is behind this erroneous cultural tradition?
Pregnancy is indeed an ‘interesting state’, but there are certain behaviors to be adopted even at this happy and important time in a woman’s life.
First of all, and as always, correct prevention: the good rule, if you want to plan a pregnancy, is to arrive there with a healthy mouth, eliminating any carious or periodontal pathologies. Eliminating any possibility of incurring an acute or chronic pathology during the gestation period in fact shields the mother-to-be from the risk of possible cycles of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs that are not always advisable and opportune.
It is now well known that, if necessary, dental treatment can also be carried out during pregnancy. Particularly in the first trimester, which is the most delicate for the formation of the fetus, special care must be taken both in the administration of local anesthetics and in the prescription of drugs that are indispensable for the treatment of infections (which must obviously be among those that do not cross the blood-placental barrier). If necessary, the dentist may consult the gynecologist for a possible sharing of pharmacological or therapeutic choices.
One of the most frequent annoyances a woman can experience during pregnancy is the occurrence of more or less marked bleeding of the gums, due to the action of the pregnancy hormones; moreover, the pregnant woman’s saliva is particularly thick.
For all these reasons, the pregnant woman should take better care of her oral hygiene, continue to brush her teeth even if her gums bleed, visit the dentist at least once every three months both to perform more regular and frequent oral hygiene sessions and to check for possible carious processes.
Obviously, radiographic investigations should be avoided throughout the pregnancy.
The possible intake of fluoride during pregnancy, although often controversial, appears to have benefits in the formation of the unborn child’s enamel without having side effects.
