Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy’

New Years Resolutions

Friday, January 22nd, 2010
I have written in my previous blog about pregnant women and their requirements for oral health.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34979552/ns/health-pregnancy

This article by MSNBC brings it really home! Especially the following part is important:

 

“Bacteria from the mouth can easily get into the bloodstream once a woman’s gums are bleeding, explains the study’s lead author Yiping Han, an associate professor of periodontics and pathology at Case Western University. Generally, this type of bacteria can be easily combated by the immune system of the mom-to-be, whether mouse or human. But because of special conditions that exist in the womb, the fetus can be more susceptible, Han suspects. “Once the bacteria are in the blood, they can go almost anywhere,” Han says.”

This study and the statement concentrate on the effects of the gum disease to the weakened immune system of the “mom-to-be”. But can’t we extrapolate the same effects to other people with the weakened immune system?
Diabetes

Hepatitis

Auto immune disease

Cancer + post-cancer treatment

STRESS!

All of the above have been proven to affect your immune system. As the result a significant portion of the population has immune system issues AND has gum disease. Having healthy gums, seeing a dentist or a hygienist regularly to keep them healthy can have a very sitive effect on your health. (No, once every 3 years is NOT regularly). How about this for a New Year resolution?

If you have a question in regards your oral health, give us a call, so we can make an appointment for a consultation, check-up or a “physical exam” of your mouth. 

 

 

 

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Pregnancy and Dental Care

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
I had several conversations recently with my pregnant patients. Some of them did not know that their requirements for dental health have changed with their pregnancy. There are several reasons for it:
1. As the baby grows in mother’s womb, it takes up minerals for the skeletal growth. The same minerals would otherwise be used by the mother’s body to fix beginning decay (de- and re-mineralization process). Pregnant women develop cavities at a much faster rate than the non-pregnant women. By the time they come back just few months after the child birth, the amount of cavities and their depth, even the possibility of a root canal treatment, is astonishing.

2. As the body of the mother-to-be changes, and the fibers start to loosen up (to enable the growth of the womb), most other fibers in your body also relax. Including the ones in your gums and around your teeth. As they loosen up, the seal around the teeth is lost and bacteria can grow in to the space under the gum. This is the main cause of the pregnancy gum disease.

Because of this I recommend that my pregnant patients come for re-care visits every 3 months (and sometimes every 2 months) instead of the usual 6. The benefits of these re-care visits are enormous and outweigh the minimal costs by miles.

We do not take any x-rays during the pregnancy (unless it is a matter of life and death), we do preventative care only, prescribe additional home treatment (if needed), improve oral hygiene (where appropriate) and do our best to make your experience as pleasant as possible.

Actually, I often hear the appreciation for providing an environment, where the women can take some time off from their busy schedule and relax.

Also, please remember that it is also of the outmost importance to make sure that the spouse has also healthy teeth, since there is always a chance for the transmittal of dental infection from father to the mother or to the child. This will provide the best requisites for the child to grow up without dental problems.

 

 

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