Dental Care And Pregnancy

Oral health is very important while pregnant. Pregnancy causes hormonal changes in the body that put pregnant woman at increased risk for periodontal disease, which can affect the health of your developing baby.

Below are some tips to help maintain good oral health while pregnant:

• Let your dentist know if you are pregnant.
• Tell your dentist of all medications you are taking including prenatal vitamins.
• Avoid dental x-rays.
• Don't avoid dental check ups because you are pregnant.
• If you are unable to brush your teeth due to morning sickness, ask your dentist/hygienist for recommendations on a bland toothpaste.
• Morning sickness can lead to frequent vomiting, rinse your mouth out with water or mouthwash afterwards.
• Cravings are common during pregnancy, be careful of what you eat. Try to avoid sugary foods.
• Eat a healthy balanced diet.

After you have your baby, see your dentist to have your entire mouth examined and a periodontal evaluation!

Cleaning Dentures

It is very important to clean your dentures daily since plaque can form on them just like natural teeth.

You will need:

• Denture brush
• Denture bath
• Cleaning solution

1. Clean your dentures over a sink filled with water to avoid damage if you drop them.
2. Rinse dentures thoroughly in warm water to remove any food particles.
3. Fill the denture bath with denture cleanser. Soak dentures.
4. Moisten the denture brush to clean all surfaces of your denture. Do not brush to hard, you don't want to damage any parts.

 With proper care and regular dental checkups, your dentures will be a healthy, naturally part of your life!

Referred to a Dental Specialist? Don't Fret! It's a Good Thing!

No, really...it is!

As a dental assistant I used to chuckle at patients, quietly of course, who would scoff at the fact that the doctor was referring them out. So I used to explain it like this...

If your medical doctor diagnosed you with a heart condition...you wouldn't think twice about being seen by a cardiologist would you? Of course not! You know your medical doctor was trained to treat you, but your Cardiologist, is a master at it. I don't know about you, but I'd rather let the master do the work.

For many, many years, the dental offices were one-stop shops. Anything you needed done from cleanings, extractions and root canals, to dentures and periodontal treatments you could have done at one office. Most general practices offered just about everything.

With the growth of treatments and technologies in the field radically changing daily, general dentists worldwide are forced to keep on their toes to be able to continue to offer all these services at their A+ rate. The reality of this is, not every general dentist can be 100% proficient, in every aspect of every field of dentistry.

This is where the beauty of specialists come in. They are able to offer the A+ treatments to patients when their general dentist is not comfortable performing a procedure or has diagnosed treatment that doesn't fall into their scope of practice. It's your general dentist's way of saying " I want you to have the best treatment possible for your situation." And why not have a doctor who does this procedure all day, day in and day out do it?

So, if you receive a referral to a dental specialist, make sure you thank your doctor. He's looking out for you, your comfort and your dental health.

 

Original post by Dawn_Da on 3.31.10