Pregnancy can lead to dental problems for some women. After all, the body goes through many changes as caring for one becomes caring for two. And while some of these changes are obvious and well known (hello, basketball belly), others such as dental health may not be as well known but are just as important. 

To maintain healthy teeth during your pregnancy you need to take extra care. So we created this guide to help you understand how your oral health can affect your pregnancy health. It also includes practical tips so you can better care for your teeth for the next nine months.

Why it’s important to look after your teeth during pregnancy

Pregnancy hormones can make gums more sensitive to dental plaque, which can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. Unfortunately, severe gum disease during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of premature birth and low birth weight. 

You’ll also need to be mindful of your calcium intake, as it helps build the teeth and bones of your developing child. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet, it may be taken from your body (usually from the bones, and never from the teeth) leaving you short.

How your teeth may change

As an expectant mother, you may experience several health challenges during your pregnancy. Along with the potential loss of calcium, your gums can become swollen (which can lead to other issues such as gingivitis), and gum tissue growths may also appear. Your changing hormones can even relax the ligaments in your body, so watch out for loose teeth.

News to you?

Of course, some of the more obvious challenges include:

• morning sickness and vomiting, which can weaken and erode teeth or cause decay
• cravings for, and indulging in, sugary foods
• gagging while brushing your teeth or gargling, disrupting your regular oral hygiene habit.

How your baby’s teeth can be affected

Pregnancy not only affects the health of your own teeth and gums, but also the development of your baby’s teeth. 

Your foetus will start growing teeth around the sixth week of pregnancy. To give their teeth the best chance for healthy development, you need to maintain a good diet. As we’ve already mentioned, including good sources of calcium (e.g. yoghurt, milk, cheese, almonds) will help your growing bub develop their chompers, as will keeping your teeth in good nick and treating any decay immediately. 

10 Ways to keep your teeth and gums healthy during pregnancy

It may seem like we’ve shared nothing but bad news about teeth and pregnancy. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Here are our top 10 tips for keeping your teeth and gums healthy during pregnancy (while still enjoying your life).

1. Brush your teeth twice a day for around two-minutes with a soft/extra-soft, small head toothbrush.
2. Floss daily or use interdental brushes to clean between teeth.
3. If vomiting, rinse your mouth with water immediately after. Follow up with a fluoride mouthwash. 
4. Don’t brush your teeth after vomiting. Wait at least an hour, as any residual stomach acids may damage your tooth enamel.
5. Avoid smoking at all times.
6. Limit the amount of caffeine and acidic drinks (e.g. juice, soft drinks) you have.
7. Eat whole nutritious foods as much as possible. To satisfy any nagging sugar cravings, try eating fresh fruit. Rinse with mouthwash afterwards.
8. Increase your calcium intake. Good sources include dairy products, tinned salmon, calcium-fortified nut and soy milks, and almonds.
9. Increase your Vitamin D intake, as it helps the body process calcium. Good sources include the sun (but limit your exposure), fatty fish, eggs, breads and cereals, and fortified milks.
10. Continue gently cleaning your gums, even if they bleed. Use an extra soft toothbrush and light pressure.

Dental treatment is safe during pregnancy (and essential)

If it’s been a while since you’ve had a dental check-up, the best thing you can do for your teeth during pregnancy is book an appointment to assess your oral health. Let your dentist know you’re pregnant, and of course ask questions if you’re concerned about any treatments you’re due to receive.

And five practical tips for dealing with dental fear

In a list of fun ways to stay healthy, we appreciate that you won’t see ‘a trip to the dentist’. Fortunately, many of us understand that the benefits of seeing a dentist outweighs the discomforts. It’s one of life’s slightly unpleasant but necessary chores. 

However, not everyone can just grin and bear it. 

If avoiding the dentist because of dental anxiety sounds familiar, we’re here to reassure you that you’re not alone. We see patients every day who struggle with fear when they come in for dental treatment. Butterflies in the tummy, sweaty palms and a raised heart rate are all signs of dental anxiety. It’s very real and very common.

In fact, around one in seven Australians wrestle with dental anxiety. That’s around three and a half million people, which makes it one of the most prevailing anxiety disorders in the country. 

Overcoming a fear starts by understanding it. And so in this article we want to help you understand:

• what dental anxiety is
• the difference between dental anxiety and dental phobia
• where dental fears come from
• why it’s important to deal with dental anxiety 
• practical tips for calming your dental fears.

What is dental anxiety?

Dental anxiety is the fear or stress someone feels when thinking about dental treatment and/or while at the dentist. Like most fears, it sits on a spectrum. At its mildest, dental anxiety causes signs of stress—butterflies, faster heart rate and sweaty palms—while more severe symptoms can include panic attacks, fainting and uncharacteristic aggression.

The difference between dental anxiety and dental phobia 

When chatting with patients and other dentists, dental anxiety and dental phobia are used interchangeably. They’re widely used to mean the same thing: an aversion to dentists and dental treatment. 

But there is a difference. 

Dental phobia refers to patients who completely avoid going to the dentist. According to one study, around one in three adults with dental phobia (also called ‘high dental fear’) have dodged the dentist’s chair for 10 years or more. In extreme cases, people with dental phobia choose to struggle with severe pain and discomfort of the mouth rather than seek the help of a dentist. 

It’s not out of the ordinary for us to see people who have been self-treating for weeks or months, trying to keep the pain in check with painkillers or antibiotics rather than make an appointment. And in a handful of more extreme cases people have tried DIY dentistry and had a go at pulling their own tooth out. 

Ignoring dental anxiety can lead to bigger problems

This is the danger of dental anxiety: it stops folks from getting essential (or even just routine) oral health care. Putting it off for years, especially if pain, tooth decay or disease are already present, leads to more severe consequences. 

What are the causes of dental fear?

The reasons for experiencing dental fear can be as wide ranging as the symptoms. It may be a result of:

• a bad dental experience
• trust issues 
• past trauma (anything from injury to assault)
• fear of pain
• claustrophobia
• health anxiety or hypochondria.  

Interestingly, a 2010 study of 1,084 Australian adults found that the most ‘anxiety-eliciting dental situation’ is the cost of dental treatment. Sixty-four percent said price stressed them out the most, followed by a fear of needles/injections (46%) and painful or uncomfortable procedures (42.9%). Sound familiar? If so, you’ll find a remedy for this later in the article.

Negative personal experiences are usually at the heart of dental anxiety. But that’s not always the case. Dental anxiety can develop as a result of perceived fear. Even if all of your dental experiences have been smooth sailing, how close friends and family feel about going to the dentist can affect your own perception. 

So can the weirdness of it all.  Sitting in a reclined position, unsure of what the dentist is doing may make you feel uneasy. It’s a power imbalance that’s out of the everyday norm. As your dentist, we understand how this can put you on edge even when you know nothing bad is going to happen.

Understanding what’s causing your fear is important. Once you understand where it’s coming from, your dentist and dental assistants can start working with you to make sure your time in the chair is a more comfortable experience. 

Five tips for overcoming dental anxiety

There are lots of things we can do so you feel more relaxed both in the run up to and during your appointment. Here are five techniques that we’ve tried with patients (or advised them to try before coming in) that can help keep stress levels in check. 

1. Deep breathing 

Anxiety and fear can cause shortness of breath, which may cause further panic and worry. Ahead of your appointment, find a quiet spot to sit or lay down and do a few minutes of deep breathing. To quiet your mind and stop your imagination from running away, spend the time focussing only on the in and out movement of your breath. If you feel anxiety rising again once you’re with your dentist, ask them if you can have a minute or two simply sitting in the chair and going through your deep breathing routine again.

Read more on breathing to reduce anxiety. 

2. See a friendly face

Ahead of your appointment, call the practice and ask if you can arrange to meet your dentist beforehand. This is especially useful if visiting a new dentist, as seeing a stranger could add to your anxiety. An earlier visit lets you get to know your dentist a little better. You’ll also have the chance to discuss your fears and work out a plan for when your appointment rolls around. If you can’t get in to see your dentist face to face, look them up online to get a feel for the type of person they are. One way we try and do this is with our meet the team page. 

3. Ask for a break

Once your treatment has begun, don’t be afraid to ask for a break if you feel your anxiety rising—especially if the procedure is likely to take a while. Before everything starts, work out a hand signal with your dentist. This way you can easily let them know when you need a pause.

4. Focus on something else

Distractions such as watching Netflix (we have screens on the ceilings), or listening to music, a podcast or an audiobook gives you something to think about other than what your dentist is doing. It can also make the session go more quickly. Being done within half an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine or before reaching track five on the latest Taylor Swift album feels much faster than us letting you know there’s 15 or 20 minutes more to go. 

5. Get the facts

If your anxiety is due to a fear of the unknown, we encourage you to ask us any questions you have. Whether it’s about the cost of treatment or the procedure itself, our front of house staff, dental assistants and dentists are all here to answer your questions and put your mind at ease. 

Your dentist and their team are here to help you 

It’s important to remember that there’s no shame in feeling dental anxiety. After all, around three million Australians are in the same boat as you. What’s important to realise is that as your dentists, we’re here to help you get the oral health care you need in whatever way makes you feel most comfortable. And if that involves answering questions or going at your pace, we’re more than happy to accommodate that. The first step is contacting our friendly front of house staff. Let them know about your dental fears, and we can work together to move onto step two.

How does a dentist fix a chipped tooth?

Smiling might feel like a small action, but a smile can speak volumes. It can make you more approachable, bring joy to another person and even be a sign of reassurance. According to NBC, the physical act of smiling releases hormones that trigger happiness and regulates depression, anxiety and everyday stresses. More smiling means happier people, which is why it’s important that you’re happy with how your smile looks. 

If you’ve recently chipped or broken your tooth you might not feel like smiling. Your confidence to beam at friends, family and your Insta followers might have taken a knock. 

It’s OK. Dentists can fix a chipped tooth. 

In fact, repairing chips and breaks are one of the big reasons people come to us for cosmetic dentistry. (The first is teeth whitening.) 

When it comes to how people break their teeth, we’ve heard it all. Some of the more memorable tales include:

• coming off a skateboard
• being kicked by their child
• having a run-in with a cow
• being headbutted by their horse
• copping a mouthful while surfing
• eating lollies, almonds, crackling and olive pits
• being hit by malfunctioning tools or machinery
• breaking fishing line or sewing thread with teeth rather than scissors.

So, to repeat the good news: with a little help from your dentist, your broken tooth can be repaired and here’s how we can do it.   

What can you do if you chip, break or knock out a tooth 

If you find yourself with one tooth less or half a tooth is gone, take the following steps immediately.  

Knocked out tooth
This may sound gross but you need to clean the tooth and put it back into its socket. Avoid touching the tooth by the root and rinse in saline solution or milk. If you’re finding this too icky, place it in saline solution until you can get an emergency appointment with your dentist. Your best chance of saving your tooth is if you can see your dentist within an hour of the accident.  

Chips and breaks 
Depending on the severity this may not need immediate attention, but it’s recommended that you get to the dentist within 24 hours. A break in the tooth will make it very sensitive, so be careful with food temperatures. 

Cracked tooth 
Putting a crack in your tooth can cause some pain and sensitivity to temperature. Action is required as soon as possible to avoid the crack getting worse. 

What happens during a dental assessment for chipped teeth

Your dentist examines the tooth and may take an x-ray or photos to see the full extent of the damage.

To rescue a tooth that’s been knocked out the dentist assesses the damage to the tooth and socket before implanting it back into place. The dentist then fixes a splint to the teeth on either side of the one that was knocked out. Splints may need to stay in place for two to eight weeks so the bone and tissue have time to heal. 

For chips, breaks and cracks the dentist takes an x-ray and inspects the damage using a mouth mirror and dental explorer. What happens next depends on which tooth is broken and how severe the break is. For example, if you break your front tooth, it’s a clean break and you have the chipped fragment, it may be possible to bond the broken part back to the tooth. 

For back teeth, and broken front teeth that have broken because of decay, the better option is a resin filling bonded to the tooth. In really severe cases, sometimes a crown is necessary. 

Repairing teeth using bonding and filling 

Dental bonding is a cosmetic dental treatment. It uses a resin that matches the colour of your teeth and can be filed into a natural tooth shape. The resin is placed on the affected area and dried with ultraviolet light. 

Dental fillings are often used for repairing teeth with internal damage caused by decay, but — fun dental fact — they can also be used for cosmetic smile touch-ups. This is because resin fillings are easy to shape and colour so they match your natural tooth. 

The end result 

So, we’ve learnt that:

•  smiling is important to our happiness and confidence,
• accidents happen, 
• your dentist can repair your chipped tooth and 
• even a tooth that’s been knocked clean out has a chance of being rescued. 

If you find yourself in a situation where you’ve had a mishap with your teeth, the best option is to keep calm. We’re here to help. We will assess the situation and provide you with the best options to keep you smiling. Learn more about our cosmetic dentistry services and book an appointment. 

Why is it that as soon as the dental chair lowers and your head goes back your dentist goes from making perfect sense to talking gibberish?

To the untrained ear, they sound like a mathematician whose sums don’t add up. It’s weird, unnerving and you want to know what’s being said about your teeth. Are the numbers good or bad?

In this article you’ll learn why dentists number teeth, what each number means and how it helps with dental notation, so at your next appointment you may even be able to de-code some of their dental lingo. 

The numbering system we use in Australia

There are a couple of different dental numbering systems used throughout the world. In the UK they use the Palmer notation system, while in America they have the Universal numbering system. Here in Australia, we use the Federation Dentaire International (FDI) notation method. It’s a two-digit numbering system and helps dentists record the condition of your teeth and gums. 

The mouth is divided into quadrants

When dentists look into your mouth, we see four sections. These are called quadrants and we work around each quadrant in an anti-clockwise direction to you as you’re sat in the chair, but clockwise direction as we’re looking at you. So, what we see is this:

All teeth in quadrant 1 start with a 1. All teeth in quadrant 3, start with a 3, and so on. The quadrant number is the first digit in the numbering system.

Each tooth is given its own number

For adults, there are eight teeth within each quadrant. Each is numbered from 1-8 and this number describes the type of tooth. 

To give you an example, the front teeth (your incisors) on the top and bottom of your mouth are all given the number 1. The incisors next to that are number 2. Here are the numbers for each of the different types of teeth.

These numbers stay the same for each type of tooth. So, for example, whether it’s a molar on the top of your mouth or a molar on the bottom it will always be a 6, 7 or 8. As a note, molar 8 is a wisdom tooth.

Putting it all together

What you hear as we’re going through and numbering your teeth is us identifying which quadrant we’re working in and which specific tooth we’re looking at. For example, when you hear us say “two-one” (not 21) it means we’re in quadrant 2 and looking at your front incisor. “Four-seven” means we’re in quadrant 4 and looking at a molar. (The second molar in the quadrant, to be exact.) 

Using the FDI system allows the dental assistant to quickly understand where the dentist is looking without second-guessing or peering into your mouth at the same time to see where we are. 

Here’s the whole lot mapped out. 

What to listen out for

Now you know how dentists number teeth, what are we harping on about as we call them out to the dental assistant? 

The first few numbers you hear are the numbers of teeth you’re missing. We’ll say “One-eight, two-eight, three-five, not present,” and the assistant marks these off on the record. After identifying which are missing, we call out any teeth that have crowns or fillings, and any implants. So, you might hear us say, “Two-four, existing DO composite restoration.” ‘DO’ stands for distal-occlusal and refers to the surface of your molar teeth.

You’re likely to hear a few easy to recognise words and phrases as we go through and make notes on chips, damage, holes and potential cavities. “Build-up,” is a favourite one. This refers to a build-up of plaque around a tooth. 

Give your dental language skills a spin

If you’re coming to see us soon, let us know you’ve given this a read. We’ll happily help you practice your new dental lingo skills and see how far you can understand what we’ve found out about your teeth at your latest check up.