Pregnancy greatly impacts a woman’s body often in some unexpected ways. Many women who are pregnant notice that their gums appear to swell and even bleed during their pregnancy. This, of course, leads to many different questions for expectant mothers from why is this happening to whether or not anything needs to be done. In this article, we will cover the relationship between pregnancy and oral health. But as a quick summary, if you are pregnant and worried about changes to your oral health, we highly recommend speaking about it with a family dentist. Our team has 11 locations throughout the Chicago area, if you need a dentist for yourself or your kids, we would be more than happy to set up an appointment with you.
Why Does Pregnancy Impact Oral Health?
If you are confused as to how pregnancy has any role/impact on a mother’s oral health you are not alone. Often when we think about physical symptoms and bodily changes during pregnancy we focus on nausea, back/hip pain, and changes to the abdomen. But a large number of changes that happen throughout the body are because of hormone fluctuations. In order for the body to adjust to pregnancy, the body produce large amounts of different hormones. These hormones can sometimes have some side effects. Swollen gums or gums that are more tender and bleed easily are often symptoms caused by these dramatic fluctuations in hormones.
What Should You Do If Your Gums Are Bleeding
If your gums are bleeding or swollen you should make sure to follow the following steps.
- Talk to your dentist: Your dentist will have recommendations on how to take care of your teeth during your pregnancy. Your gums might be more sensitive so they might help demonstrate how to avoid hurting your gums while you brush and floss.
- Brush & Floss Daily: Unfortunately, your gums might be more susceptible to gum disease and infections during your pregnancy. For that reason, it is important that you brush and floss every day.
- Avoid Aggravating Your Gums: When your brush and floss you will want to make sure you do it gently. You should also avoid drinking sugary drinks or eating sugary foods that could put your teeth and gums at greater risk. Moreover, if you smoke or chew tobacco you should stop both for your oral health and you/your baby’s health.
- Rinse Your Mouth: If you are experiencing morning sickness you should rinse your mouth out with water to remove any vomit from your mouth. Stomach bile is acidic and can hurt your teeth and gums if it sits there. You should actually wait to brush your teeth after dealing with morning sickness as brushing your teeth immediately after can hurt them. Your teeth can softened by the acid in bile which can make brushing potentially damaging for the outer layers of your teeth.
Schedule Family Dental Appointments In Chicago
During your pregnancy you should not skip the dentist. It is also important to make sure your dentist knows that you are pregnant. Your dentist will likely recommend skipping dental X-rays while you are pregnant. While the X-rays used in dental offices are significantly lower in radiation than the ones used to look at bones and are also aimed mostly at the mouth and head, most dentists will usually skip x-rays if a patient is pregnant. Here at Dental Town Chicago we are proud to help families with their dental health. If you are looking for a family dentist for yourself and your little ones, please click below to book an appointment with one of our offices.