Caring For Your Teeth Becomes More Important During Pregnancy

South of the chin, it’s pretty obvious where a woman plumps up during pregnancy.

Less noticeably, her gums become swollen, too. Not only are puffy gums painful, but they also pose a risk to the unborn baby.

During pregnancy, blood vessels expand throughout the body, including the gums, says Dr. Dana Keiles, who practices dentistry in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Enlarged vessels make the gums tender and more likely to bleed.

On top of that, about 50 percent of women experience pregnancy gingivitis, a gum disease caused by elevated hormone levels, according to the American Academy of Periodontology.

The hormones react with plaque at the gum line, causing inflammation. Studies show that women with gum disease are more likely to give birth prematurely or bear full-term babies with low birth weight, which puts the infants at risk of developing serious health problems such as cerebral palsy, blindness and deafness.

In addition, a study published in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Dental Research suggests that women with gum disease are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

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