ORAL HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD
Practice Guidelines
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Health care professionals should recognize the importance of good oral health and make certain that the need for dental care during pregnancy and early childhood is met. Pregnancy is a unique time in a woman’s life and is characterized by complex physiological changes. These changes can adversely affect oral health during pregnancy. Pregnancy is also an opportune time to educate women about preventing dental caries in young children, one of the most common childhood problems. Evidence suggests that most young children acquire caries-causing bacteria from mothers. Improving the oral health of expectant and new mothers and providing oral health counseling may reduce the transmission of such bacteria from mothers to children, thereby delaying the onset of caries.
These recommendations have been developed to assist health care professionals to educate women about oral health and to improve the overall health of women and children. These guidelines can be used by: 1) prenatal care providers to integrate oral health risk assessment and referral into routine prenatal care; 2) oral health professionals to provide appropriate treatment for pregnant women; 3) child health professionals to include oral health risk assessment as part of well-child care and to provide referral.
These guidelines will enable health care professionals to work together as a team to improve the care delivered to mothers and children. This improved integration of care is expected to have significant health benefits.