I have always had perfectly healthy teeth; that was, until I got pregnant. Before any other symptoms, my pregnancy began to show in the form of sensitive teeth – a room-temperature glass of water was enough to make me wince. Then, weeks later, I noticed two painful marks on my tooth.
I had sudden, permanent enamel loss. At my eight-week appointment, the midwife slid a form across the table to me. “Fill this out and send it off,” she said.
“You’re entitled to free dental care for your entire pregnancy and the year after birth.” It was a welcome perk and one that’s offered to every pregnant woman in the UK, due to the risks they face during this time. From decay and erosion to bleeding gums and small non-cancerous oral tumours called pyogenic granuloma – hormonal changes during pregnancy greatly increases the risk of oral health problems .
Regular check-ups to catch these problems early are vital as the stakes are high. Several studies have confirmed a link between gum disease and risk of pre-term labour and low birth weight, with research published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology finding that women who entered labour early were one-and-a-half times more likely to have gum disease than women who didn’t. More broadly, left untreated, tooth decay can leak into our bloodstreams, flowing into our hearts, affecting our cardiovascular and respiratory health, and even leading to an increased risk of dementia in older adults.
I gratefully took the exemption .