I remember when Sandy came into my practice. She was six months pregnant with her third child. We talked about her previous pregnancies and of course, her teeth.
‘My kids are always trying ruin my teeth!’ she joked.
Sandy had a big hole in her tooth and bleeding gums. She recalled how this had happened to her during her two previous pregnancies. Pregnancy and teeth really go together like chalk and cheese.
If you’ve recently experienced pregnancy and teeth problems, you’re not alone.
Sandy thought that this was normal. For a long time, I did too. And many others still do.
Can pregnancy cause loose teeth?
You have probably heard the old wives’ tale, “Gain a child, lose a tooth.” Well, for a long time, I thought that pregnancy and teeth problems were caused by people not brushing well enough. Or they didn’t go to dental appointments regularly.
The New York University College of Dentistry found that of 2,635 pregnant women, many had pregnancy and teeth problems. Also, as the number of children increased, so did a woman’s risk of untreated cavities and gum disease, causing mothers to lose teeth during pregnancy.
In dental practice, when I see a pregnant patient, we almost always talk about the dental problems.
Mother’s often reported how pregnancy and teeth problems arose.
Can you lose teeth during pregnancy?
Many mother’s wonder whether it’s safe to go to the dentist during pregnancy. Proper dental care may help prevent a mother losing a tooth. Regular dental check-ups help to stop dental disease causing series disease. Healthy pregnancy symptoms travel to your baby.
But here’s what’s most important. Dental diseases during pregnancy are a sign of the mother’s health.
Oral disease is a direct warning that there are problems elsewhere in the body. Many of the changes that happen during pregnancy can change the oral cavity.
Do your teeth hurt during pregnancy?
One big problem with dental care today is that we haven’t been taking into account how kids dental health begins at birth. And it’s all linked to the microbiome and gut health.
Your kid’s dental health begins during pregnancy.
In this series of articles, we’re going to explore how the newborn microbiome forms. We will also explore the all-important factors like fetal and vaginal microbiome. And why bleeding gums in a mother may or not be normal.
How has your dental health been during pregnancy? Let us know your experiences in the comments section below.
Read on for part 2: Bleeding gums in pregnancy – Is it normal?
Future articles on this topic include:
Part 3 Pregnancy Hormones Shape the Newborn Gut Microbiome
Part 4 How Healthy Digestion During Pregnancy Shapes your Newborn’s Microbiome
Part 5 Is There Normal Flora of the Mouth During Pregnancy?
Part 6 The Breast Milk Microbiome – Shaping Your Kid’s Gut Health
For more information on Dr. Lin’s clinical protocol that highlights the steps parents can take to prevent dental problems in their children: Click here.
Want to know more? Dr Steven Lin’s book, The Dental Diet, is available to order today. An exploration of ancestral medicine, the human microbiome and epigenetics it’s a complete guide to the mouth-body connection. Take the journey and the 40-day delicious food program for life-changing oral and whole health.
Click below to order your copy now:
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