Your little bundle of joy never comes easy, you will have to face dental problems along the way!
We all know that pregnancy is a beautiful time, but it comes with a lot of side effects. Make sure you have a healthy nine months. Take care of everything from maintaining a healthy diet to getting proper prenatal care to regular exercises to giving up on a few habits (even cutting short on your favorite coffee).
While it’s critical to take care of your general health during pregnancy, you should never neglect your dental health. During this period, you may notice unexpected problems like increased tooth sensitivity or severe pain. But with good dental habits and a regular visit to your Newport Beach dentist, you will keep your gums and teeth healthy.
What causes tooth pain during pregnancy?
You may anticipate some discomfort during pregnancy. Sometimes you may hear stories like swollen feet, fatigue, morning sickness, back pain, and brain fog – and it’s normal (Thank God, the baby at the end is so worth it). If you have severe tooth pain or sensitivity, it can catch you off guard.
There are a lot of changes that occur during pregnancy, including the significant hormonal changes that you will experience. An increase in progesterone and estrogen is responsible for symptoms like nausea and vomiting. All the factors often weaken your dental health and make you vulnerable to dental plaque.
Dental plaque is the root cause of inflammation and bleeding gums among pregnant women. This condition is known as pregnancy gingivitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 75% of women suffer from gingivitis due to hormonal changes during pregnancy. If they remain untreated, the gums can be infected, and the bones that support your teeth can be lost.
The plaque buildup during the pregnancy can develop pregnancy tumors. These sound scary, but they are non-cancerous growth on the gums. Of course, whether they are cancerous or not, the overgrowth of tissues is always worrisome. You can feel pain and tenderness, and it is difficult for you to drink and eat. The good news is, the tumor can disappear soon after birth.
Pregnancy can also change your appetite. You can crave certain food items, not food items you crave for necessarily healthy foods. You may rush for the high-carbohydrate snacks to satisfy the food craving, but there is a high chance of tooth decay, which can result in cavities. Constant intake of high-carbohydrate snacks or sugary items can worsen tooth decay further. According to the research:
- One in four women of childbearing age have untreated cavities
- Kids whose mothers have a high level of untreated cavities are more likely to have cavities as a child
Treatment for pregnancy teeth pain
Whether you have sore gums, tender gums, toothache, the pain does not have to be a killjoy. The first and foremost step is to see your nearest Newport Beach dentist.
Don’t suffer silently, if you the toothache does not go away. See your dentist right away. Although specific dental procedures and X-rays are safe during pregnancy, to avoid any unseen effects tell your dentist that you are pregnant.
Based on how far along you are, your Newport Beach dentist may advise you to delay some of the procedures until six months. This applies particularly if you need a root canal or filling that includes general anesthesia, which may increase the chances of miscarriage during the first three months of your pregnancy. By the second trimester, the vital organs of your baby are developed, and there is a lower risk of side effects due to which dentist delay procedures to the second trimester.
Have a routine dental cleaning
To avoid the plague buildup, get regular dental cleaning from the nearest hygienist or Newport Beach dentist. Getting your teeth cleaned helps you get rid of the plaque, which can cause sensitivity otherwise. Cleaning can also treat pregnancy gingivitis. The dentist often recommends frequent cleaning every three months.
Get more specific treatments
Instead of the general dental cleaning, go for more precise treatment when you are pregnant. If you need a tooth extraction, you may need to wait for the second or third trimester because it includes local anesthesia, which may increase the risk of miscarriage.
You can have a dental bridge or dental implant during the second trimester because they both are safe.
Home remedies
While most of the pregnant women rely on a Newport Beach dentist to get dental problems fixed, but there are several home remedies that you can apply to relieve pain at home. Start by identifying drinks and food items that often worsen pain or sensitivity.
Some pregnant women claim that tooth sensitivity increases when they eat or drink extremely hot or cold beverages and food items. If it’s something relatable, please avoid extreme temperature foods and drinks. To get relief from inflammation or swelling, you can rinse your mouth with salty, warm water.
Whether they are severe or not, any dental problem that you have during pregnancy go away as soon as you give birth to your little bundle of joy.