So each night before you go to bed, you’re brushing your teeth, anxious to get to bed because you’re exhausted hauling your pregnant body around all day. Your mouth’s full of foam so you spit into the sink thinking nothing of it. But you startle before turning on the water to rinse-there’s blood in your spit!
You quickly look in your mouth wondering how it happened. But…you don’t see much, just toothpaste muck all over. So you think nothing of it, maybe you just need to floss a bit more. Then the next morning, same thing happens!
What is going on? Your oral health for pregnancy is a bit different than just any other time. And there are many reasons why.
What Affects Your Oral Health For Pregnancy
It comes back down to those darn hormones you get to deal with day in and day out. You can see a graph showing how high they spike in this post here.
Estrogen and Progesterone increase your inflammatory response throughout your entire body and this can adversely affect your gum tissue in your mouth. PLUS, your blood volume grows and grows with baby so much that even slight irritation in your gums makes an easy out for extra blood to squeeze through.
If your morning sickness causes regular puking, the gastric acids that you just love tasting settle in your mouth and also irritate your gums and teeth. Thus this combination of increased acidity plus a normal increase of sugary sweets due to cravings combines for a perfect combination that cavities just enjoy.
On top of all that, brushing your teeth can make you nauseous too! Trying to get down those prenatal vitamins can be hard too when you’re just sick. Then the lack of calcium and probiotics can weaken your teeth and gums additionally.
I once knew a gal that said when she was pregnant, brushing her teeth made her gag so bad she actually avoided it some days so she wouldn’t throw up.
So it may be difficult for you to even brush your teeth, thus not getting the needed daily cleaning. And if you don’t have regular cleanings and checkups with your dentist, that certainly is the icing the cake.
It can be EASY to see why things just point down the path of bad oral health when you’re pregnant.
Here’s a fun Draw My Life video talking about a pregnant woman’s oral health you might like.
Common Issues Orally When You’re Pregnant
Slight bleeding while brushing your teeth is the just the beginning. See what else may be in store for you:
Image courtesy of premiersmilespa.com
- Gingivitis - This happens when your inflammation in your gums becomes problematic. Your gums swell up and become redder than normal, especially around where your gums come in contact with your teeth. If you commonly have or have had gingivitis before even becoming pregnant, you’re more likely to have it during pregnancy, and worse.
- Lesions - In only a few cases (like 5% of pregnancies), your gums can actually swell so much that small benign growths can appear along your gum line. These can be removed, but often return to normal after you’ve had your baby.
- Tooth Erosion and Cavities - We all wish our enamel was so thick that our teeth were forever strong against cavities and buildup. However, the enamel can become thin from increased acidity (eroded) and our teeth’s natural defenses are weakened greatly.
- Periodontitis - This is the worst case scenario in the path of destruction from gingivitis. This happens when bacterial film build up is so great and the inflammation so adverse, that your teeth can start to become infected below the surface. They can become loose and pockets of infection can sprout up in the gums, leading to infections that can enter your blood stream.
Now that I’ve sent you rushing for your bathroom mirror in fear, know that these certainly don’t affect everyone. Even though approximately 40% have some sort of these mentioned conditions (most on the calm end), there are factors that increase your odds of getting any of them.
My Increased Risk
There are certain demographics and even personal decisions your may have made that affects your odds of having worse oral issues when you’re pregnant. They include:
- African American Descent - If your ethnicity is this, you have a greater risk of having some sort of periodontal issue during your pregnancies.
- Cigarette Smoking - This needs no explanation. We all know that smoking ruins the mouth and its ability to be healthy. If you’re pregnant and still smoking, or you know someone who is, you may find this post helpful.
If either of these pertain to you, be sure to discuss with dentist and/or doctor about your increased risk.
But you may be thinking, “Why does this all matter? So I might have a crummy mouth when I’m pregnant. It will go away, just like all my other pregnancy symptoms. Why bother?”
Why? Because it can harm your baby too!!
How It Affects My Baby
When you have periodontal disease, bacteria and toxins invade your blood stream and can travel throughout your body and be transmitted across the placenta and into baby, or just invade the placenta. Here’s a pic from the InTech chapter that describes it visually. Don’t worry about the biological jargon.
Image courtesy of intechopen.com
If you follow through to the results in the brown circles, your risks to yourself and baby are: Preeclampsia (high blood pressure), low birth weight for baby, and preterm birth.
Low birth weight and preterm birth are just the beginning of many different issues and problems your baby could face throughout their entire life. You DON’T want this to happen!!
How To Prevent
When it comes to just a few simple things that you can do to prevent such adverse conditions, they are worth the effort beforehand.
- Brush your teeth daily or as recommended by your dentist.
- Floss your teeth just as much.
- Use an oral rinsing agent like Listerine or Scope (I just use hydrogen peroxide, it’s cheap and doesn’t burn your mouth).
- Visit your dentist like you should. They can work with you and even prescribe additional fluoride to help if needed.
Image courtesy of scopemouthwash.com
- Many insurance plans allow for an extra cleaning during a pregnancy (mine does, so I’m going back in 4 months instead of 6 to get another one in for the year), so check if yours does!
- Rinse your mouth with a baking soda and water solution after you vomit to neutralize the acid left over in your mouth.
- Do what you can to quell your morning sickness so you don’t vomit in the first place.
- Do your best to avoid sugary treats.
- I know this is the hardest one! I went though the holidays pregnant and am now fighting off the Easter candy still sitting in my kitchen. If you crave sugar, stick with fresh fruit.
You may find yourself lucky and not have any issues orally at all, besides just the most common form of a little bleeding while you brush your teeth. Many of you do NOT have to worry about these extreme complications that can arise.
But knowledge is power and knowing it before you can no longer do anything about it is, of course, best.
Compare Your Guaranteed Results With These Two Birthing Courses
Has anyone ever had issues with their gums while pregnant? Some of those pics I found around crazy! I can’t imagine waking up and having such swollen gums every day. I’m sure it’s painful too.
Here’s to your best smile! 🙂
Gary says
The resources that baby steals from mommy make everything worse, including dental health. Back when I had money I took several pregnant friends to the dentist, which is problematic when pregnant because they can’t do the x-rays and medications they would normally do due to the baby in there.
Some of your blogger friends (they are my friends too) have been raving about and writing articles about an ancient process called Oil Pulling. Check it out. I’ve begun using the technique and it’s amazing how much healthier my mouth feels.
Gary
share-a-like dot com.
Hi Gary. I’ve heard of oil pulling but haven’t looked into it much. I would love for my mouth to feel healthier too, and I regularly take care of it, visit the dentist, etc. Where would you recommend that I learn moe about it?
Gary says
I have seen several articles about Oil Pulling. One of the best ones is here:
http://thegreenbeautymademoiselle.com/coconut-oil-pulling-health-benefits-detox-oral-hygiene-clear-skin/
Gary
share-a-like dot com
Thanks Gary! I’ll check it out.
Michelle Medeiros says
Hi Sarah! I loved your article!
I didn’t even know that pregnant women could have these kind of issues. It’s very interesting how our body changes in order to generate a little baby… 🙂 But it’s all worth! Anyway, it’s good to know the kinds of issue pregnancy can bring and how to avoid them.
Thank you!
Michelle.
Absolutely, Michelle. There are so many factors that affect our little ones. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for your comment!
Travis says
This is a very informative article. And if I read correctly, you’re pregnant. Congratulations! My wife is expecting too, but we haven’t told anyone in the family yet. She is out of her first trimester but she still gets nauseous; I’ll tell her about the baking soda method to neutralize the acid in her mouth if she gets sick again. Also, she tries to eat crackers or something before she gets out of bed and that seems to help with her nausea. Anyways, thanks for the information.
Congratulations to you too! Yes, your wife can do a number of things to curb her nausea, check them out here. No reason to suffer more than necessary, but hopefully she’ll start to feel better soon.
Thanks for sharing, I’m sure she will appreciate it as well. Let her know that I’m here to help with anything. Is this your first one? Exciting, best!
Travis says
Our fifth
I can’t imagine having that many yet. 🙂 Best!
Olive says
Hi Sarah
I really enjoyed this article. Oral health is not something I thought about that could effect you baby and I was lucky not to have any sickness or anything that would put me off brushing.
I did however develop bad breath when I was pregnant and the dentist said that that can happen due to the changes of acid of something when pregnant. Thankfully I don’t have any trouble now.
Thank you for sharing.
Olive
Yes, it all adds together with bad breath too. I’ve had much trouble either beyond slight bleeding when I brush. You’re welcome!
I was craving sweets when I was pregnant and I worried a bit about my teeth. The worst part was that it took quite some time to get rid of the sugar cravings after my son was born. I got a bad habit I guess.
Marie
Mine comes and goes too. It seems extra hard to overcome when pregnant, especially. I find that exercising helps overcome them because your body is using it’s fuel properly. Thanks Marie!
Fantastic site and wonderful information for helping new mums and their babies. It is often said that the health of ones teeth is comparative to the health of ones own body. With that being said, pregnancy and oral health should be treated with great importance.
I’ve heard that before too about how healthy your mouth is reflects upon your body overall. Thanks for your comment, Amber.
Hi Sarah,
I really love your post. I’m not a mother myself however maternal health is a huge interest for me (I’ve always wanted to be a midwife) and a lot of mothers don’t take care of themselves as well as they should not because they’re purposefully trying to neglect their babies but simply because they’re not aware of issues like this!
So much goes on when you’re pregnant it wouldn’t be hard for your teeth and gums to fall further down the priority list than normal.
This is a really good resource for expectant mothers and I like the way you write.
Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thank you so much, Katia! I’ve been asked before too if I’m a midwife or want to become one. I don’t have a desire to be one, but I sure love helping anyone who has questions about things.
But you’re right too. Most mothers just don’t know about things that can really affect them and their babies. That’s why I need your help to share and spread the word too. I hope you do look into becoming a midwife. I know that you’d make a HUGE difference in so many lives.
Have a great day!
Garen says
Hey Sarah,
Wow what a great article. I never really thought about oral hygiene and a babies health. Are there any types of food you can take or supplements that will attribute to better oral health to?
Here’s a post about the basics of good foods to eat while pregnant, just in general. Avoiding processed sugars is really key. But I also take a pro-biotic along with my prenatal vitamins and that helps maintain your natural bacteria levels throughout your body. If the good bacteria get out of balance, then the undesired bacteria and yeast can grow out of control (leading to cavities, yeast infections, etc.) Thanks, Garen!
Garen says
Hey Sarah,
Thanks for a link to the post. I will have to check it out 🙂
Anytime, Garen! I’m always here.
Julius says
Super information. One of those topics of discussion that does not come up that often, but you are happy it has.
Exactly. It can mean the difference between two distinct paths of life if one isn’t careful. Thank you, Julius.
Katerina Markakis says
Teeth problems occur during pregnancy and women should know how to care for their oral health during those hard 9 months! I knew that stomach acids and sugar can ruin your tooth enamel but I had no idea that bad oral health can affect your baby! This is so good to know and even more motivating for pregnant women to brush their teeth!
Thank you for sharing Sarah! Your posts are amazing as always!
I never knew much myself either until my dentist with my first pregnancy mentioned something and gave me a pamphlet. Many will mention the bleeding gums and gingivitis, but not the risks to baby.
I appreciate your comments always, Katerina! Have a nice rest of the weekend.
Tim says
Great article! I would have never thought about periodontal disease affecting fetuses great information!
Thanks Tim. Feel free to share anytime.
Chris says
I am really glad I read this (even though I am a male and never will get pregnant). I still want to share this with my loved ones because I’m not sure everyone is aware how important oral health is during pregnancy.
I admire that you are saving the future health of many newborns!
I’m happy to have been helpful, that’s what I hope to do for anyone looking. I appreciate your sharing too. Thanks for your comment, Chris.