| PREGNANCY AND POSTPARTUM |
Anticipatory Guidance
Discuss with Pregnant Women and New Mothers (or Other Intimate Caregivers):
Oral Hygiene
- Brushing teeth thoroughly twice a day (after breakfast and before bed) with fluoridated toothpaste, and flossing daily. Spitting out the toothpaste after brushing, but not rinsing with water. The small amount of fluoridated toothpaste that remains in the mouth helps prevent tooth decay.
- Rinsing every night with an alcohol-free over-the-counter fluoridated mouth rinse.
- Using certain over-the-counter and prescription medications can decrease salivary flow and increase risk for dental caries and gingivitis.
- Visiting a dentist for an examination and restoration of all active decay as soon as feasible. Hormonal changes (increases in estrogen and progesterone) that occur during pregnancy can increase a woman’s risk for developing gingivitis. With gingivitis, the gums become inflamed, swollen, and sensitive and tend to bleed.
Nutrition
- Eating healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables, grain products (especially whole grain), and dairy products (milk, cheese, cottage cheese, and unsweetened yogurt) during meals and snacks. Limit eating (grazing) in between.
- Eating foods containing sugar at mealtimes only, and limiting the amount. Frequent consumption of foods high in sugar, such as candy, cookies, cake, sweetened beverages (e.g., fruit drinks, soda), and fruit juice, increases the risk for tooth decay. In addition, frequent consumption of foods that easily adhere to the tooth surface, such as dried fruit, fruit roll-ups, and candy, increases the risk for tooth decay. When checking for sugar, looking beyond the sugar bowl and candy dish. A variety of foods contain one or more types of sugar, and all types of sugars can promote tooth decay.
- Choosing fruit rather than fruit juice. Drinking fruit juice at mealtimes only, if at all.
- Avoiding carbonated beverages during pregnancy and for the first 30 months of the infant’s life.
- Drinking fluoridated water (via a community fluoridated water source) to prevent tooth decay; for families that prefer bottled water, drinking a brand in which fluoride is added at a concentration of approximately 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L (ppm) is recommended.
- Once the infant is born, avoiding testing the temperature of the bottle with the mouth, sharing utensils (e.g., spoons), or orally cleaning a pacifier or a bottle nipple. This practice helps prevent transmission of bacteria that cause tooth decay from the parent, especially the mother, to the child via saliva.