Pregnancy is one of the beautiful phases in life of a woman. But this phase can’t be as smooth as you expect it to be. It brings a lot of challenges on both physical and emotional levels. Due to which dealing with this critical phase can’t be easy for all woman. Toothache is one of the areas that presents a challenge in pregnancy. If you also relate to this problem, and wish to know its causes and cure, then read this article.
Is Pregnancy A Reason For Toothache?
Pregnancy can lead to a wide range of dental issues that comprise of teeth and gum issues. The major cause for occurrence of dental issues is hormonal imbalance, calcium needs of the baby, and a few other reasons.
One of the best ways to remain safe from dental issues is to consume proper levels of calcium in your diet, maintain appropriate dental hygiene and perform regular dental checkups. When you duly follow these steps, you can keep a variety of dental issues at bay during pregnancy.
How Toothache Can Impact Your Unborn Baby?
As per the studies conducted in the past, it is seen that gum ailments have a direct relation with the preterm or low birth babies. 1 in 10 pregnant women who suffers from severe periodontal diseases suffer from premature or preterm babies. Proper dental care and fast dental treatment is effective in significantly lowering the chances of delivering a premature baby.
Causes of Toothache in Pregnancy
Toothache is a common problem faced by women during their pregnancy. Let us see what factors are responsible to causing it.
- Morning sickness is the commonest reason that causes dental issues in pregnant women. This happens when stomach releases acid that comes into the mouth. It causes toothache and dental cavity during pregnancy.
- The hormonal disturbances that your body experiences during pregnancy makes it susceptible to gingivitis. It leads to various types of gum and tooth issues. Raised levels of female hormones such as progesterone and estrogen cause nausea, vomiting and dental plaque in a pregnant woman.
- In pregnancy, your doctor may have advised you a lot of dairy products to include in your diet. Over consumption of these products increase your possibilities of experiencing dental issues.
- At the time of your pregnancy, the calcium requirement of your body increases. You also need to consider the calcium needs of a developing foetus. Due to which, pregnant women double their intake of calcium. Though, it ensures sound development of bones in your foetus, but it can result in “demineralization” on the tooth enamel. This causes pains and toothaches.
- Pregnancy may cause your teeth and gums to become sensitive. It leads to frequent or improper brushing of teeth that ultimately results in dental issues.
Treatment for a Toothache in Pregnancy
Every pregnant woman who goes through this painful condition during her pregnancy wants to know about its treatment. There are both natural remedies and medical treatments available to treat this condition.
X-ray: X-ray is the first step to determine the extent of tooth damage. Undergoing this treatment is safe for both the women and the baby. Wearing a lead apron will offer a significant amount of protection to your baby from the impact of X-rays.
Your dentist would delay performing this treatment till the 2nd trimester. This is because you may need to perform a root canal that would require a general or local anesthesia. This can increase chances of miscarriage in the 1st trimester.
Medication: Doctors can advise antibiotics that deals with different types of tooth or gum infection. Do not consume any medication without consulting your doctor, as there are chances that they may cause birth defects. So, always go as per the suggestion of the doctor.
Natural Remedies
One of the best and safe ways to deal with pregnancy is to try natural remedies to treat your tooth pain.
- Chew a clove or apply some clove oil on affected tooth. It will help a lot in reducing toothache.
- Spinach is another effective way to lessen pain in the tooth. All you need is to chew some spinach leaves.
- Apply hot compression to alleviate painful sensation. Soak a cloth in lukewarm water. Apply it on that region of the face where your tooth is hurting.
- Boil some guava leaves, and prepare a decoction. Now gargle using this decoction. Another way is to chew guava leaves from that side of the face where you are feeling toothache.
- Chew garlic to destroy the tooth-decaying bacteria. It helps in relieving the toothache.
Also read: How to Treat Itchy Skin During Pregnancy?
Conclusion
Don’t let toothache deteriorate your beautiful experience of pregnancy. With these measures, you can treat it easily. Regular checkups, and cleaning will keep your tooth pain free during pregnancy.