To ensure that pregnant women receive appropriate and necessary oral care, the Connecticut State Dental Association (CSDA) has collaborated with several organizations to produce a resource for dentists called "Considerations for the Dental Treatment of Pregnant Women."
The guide is designed is to help dentists understand the importance of providing oral health services to pregnant women and making appropriate decisions about these patients' treatment options. It provides answers to basic questions both dentists and expecting mothers may have about dental care during pregnancy, including questions about whether sedation, x-rays, and pharmaceuticals are safe at this time.
The Connecticut Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and other healthcare organizations contributed to the guide.
"Dental care is safe for pregnant patients and can prevent future health problems for mothers and their babies; however, what we are finding is that pregnant patients are not keeping their dental appointments," said Carolyn Malon, DDS, president of the CSDA, in a press release. "It is important that patients adhere to their regular dental hygiene practices, but it is of equal importance for their dentists to see them during their pregnancy."
Healthy women who are not experiencing troubled pregnancies are clear to receive dental care throughout the length of their pregnancy without a consultation from their obstetrician, she added.
