Monday, January 28, 2013

Dentist Dunwoody: Oral Health, Women and Pregnancy

More than 6 million women in the US become pregnant every year and 40% of them for the first time.  During pregnancy, women are at greater risk of experiencing poor oral health care, which has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes.  Pregnant women are susceptible to oral infections, pregnancy gingivitis, periodontitis and oral pyogenic granulomas.  Results of various studies regarding oral health literacy show it is directly related to general health knowledge, and therefore, health outcomes of both the mother and the fetus follow the level of the mother’s health knowledge.  These studies show that the prevalence of low health literacy among pregnant women ranges from about 15 to 38% and is associated with older age women and women of minority status.[1]
Because of the low levels of oral health knowledge among these segments of the population, it is important for physicians and public health workers to be aware that a message should be tailored to direct pregnant women in these at-risk populations to seek out dental professionals[2] who can alleviate potential oral health issues that might be related to complications in their pregnancies and the potential of adverse effects on their babies.
If you have any questions or concerns about your oral health care, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or by phone.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
404-256-3620


Thank you for all your referrals.  We truly appreciate them.
Information included is not dental or medical advice.  For your specific information
 be sure to consult your dentist.
Related articles


[1] Jada, September 2012 at 972-979
[2] We have an in-house periodontist should the need arise.

No comments:

Post a Comment

We hope you find something useful in our blog. But if not, email us and maybe we can answer your questions.