In the old days they said that a woman looses a tooth for every child she bears; it was taken for granted that tooth health would suffer and that problems such as toothache during pregnancy would occur.
In fact many women believe that apart from actual labor, the most painful thing during their pregnancy could be a toothache.
It could be that a woman had preexisting dental problems before she got pregnant, which got exacerbated during pregnancy or that dental problems start anew during this period.
Among the many, many changes that pregnancy hormones have on an expectant mother’s body, one is that her gums tend to soften and swell, giving rise not only to toothache in pregnancy, but also other dental problems –
it could be an infection of the gums or teeth, increased sensitivity of teeth, bleeding gums, an impacted wisdom tooth, problems resulting from buildup of plaque and so on that could happen.
The toothache not only puts the mother’s already stressed body under more stress, toothache during pregnancy is thought to be harmful for the developing baby as well, since there is a connection seen to exist between dental problems and premature birth or low birth weight.
Proper dental care during pregnancy is of vital importance also because the body first addresses the calcium needs of the developing fetus before the mother, and as such a calcium deficiency could occur in respect of the mother, weakening teeth and giving rise to problems in the future as well.
It is important to maintain good dental health not just to prevent toothache in pregnancy but also in the interests of teeth in the longer term.
- Pay particularly good attention to dental hygiene during pregnancy. Not only should you brush after each meal, you should also floss regularly and thoroughly to remove bacteria causing food trapped between teeth.
- Schedule regular visits to the dentist during pregnancy to monitor oral health. Scaling may be required to get rid of tartar or plaque buildup and the dental hygienist will see if a fluoride treatment is required.
- If it isn’t possible to brush after every meal, do so at least twice a day and rinse the mouth out with water after each meal. Brush especially after eating anything sweet so that gum problems as well as plaque buildup can be avoided.
Here are some of the home remedies that are advisable for women to use for toothache during pregnancy.
- Hot compress placed at the site of the toothache can help relieve swelling and pain.
- Clove has been an excellent antidote to toothache and using clove oil or the whole clove at the site of the toothache can act as a natural pain reliever and anti inflammatory agent.
- A tea bag placed at the site of the toothache can also help reduce pain.
- Make sure that all prescribed calcium and/or vitamin supplements are being taken throughout pregnancy.
- If the toothache during pregnancy persists, do not self medicate, make an appointment with a dentist and take only those medications which are deemed safe to take during pregnancy.
