Is It Critical To Be Concerned With Pregnancy and Gum Disease?

There are a lot of studies documented by the NCBI, National Center for Biotechnology Information, on pregnancy and birth and gum disease. Many women who previously had healthy teeth and gums, during pregnancy they may notice that their gums become swollen, inflamed or bleed. Sometimes, you will hear this condition called "pregnancy gingivitis." It is the result of changing hormone levels including increased amounts of progesterone. This condition may appear ear as early as the first trimester. Since pregnancy tends to influence the periodontal status, and considering the potential reported relation between periodontal disease and pregnancy complications, careful periodontal diagnosis and treatment before as well as during pregnancy is warranted.

Wisdom teeth are most often a concern with everyone because your mouth is not large enough to accommodate those molars that far back and many times people can't get their floss or toothbrush back there to keep the distal or backside of those molars clean. A pregnancy study done in 2007, indicates that there are problems with wisdom teeth and bone disease progression during pregnancy. What it states is that wisdom teeth, or third molars, can be a significant risk factor during pregnancy and periodontal disease can progress particularly in that area of the mouth during pregnancy. This makes sense considering the condition of gum tissue during pregnancy.

While medical physicians and dentists all agree on the above information, there is some pregnancy and dental related information that has stirred a bit of controversy. The controversy is whether or not periodontal disease and low birth rate are connected. One study showed that there is an association between periodontal status and prematurity/low birth rate and another finding showed no association between periodontal status and prematurity/low birth weight.

A study done in October of 2008 was done to investigate whether or not it is possible to decrease the chance of pre-term birth and low birth-weight in the case of healthy non-smoking women through the elimination of periodontal inflammation by providing professional oral hygiene treatment during pregnancy. It was found that the periodontal treatment might have contributed to a more optimal date of delivery and to achieving a larger birth-weight.

Healthcare personnel should be informed on how diseases in the mouth, during pregnancy, can relate to the rest of the body. Whether or not providing providing oral hygiene treatment during pregnancy reduces pre-term births and low birth-weight, there is a need to educate healthcare personnel further about oral health and pregnancy outcomes in other countries, as well as, the United States.

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