Dental care!

[emily]

I would highly reccomend seeing a dentist asap after the HG subsides. I had HG my entire PG and was unable to see a dentist. A couple of weeks after I gave birth, Sept. 11th happened and I just got busy with the new baby... anyhow, it was 4 months before I got into the dentist and there was quite a bit of damage done by the contant vomitting.

[otiam]

You are so right. I also had problems with my teeth after all that vomitting....I also could not step foot in the dentists office for months after my daughter was born....I just couldn't stand the thought of them putting the xrays in my mouth, or anything...I was afraid I would gag and get sick.....My doctor actually recommended I was seen again 6 months after my daughter was born to draw blood and be sure everything went back to normal. My liver function tests were very very high on the zofran pump....so they had to be sure I returned to normal. Which I did thank goodness.

Amber

[Kimber]

I talked in depth to my dentist and hygenist about HG and the hypersensitive gag reflex. They were very helpful, skipped the flouride paste, scheduled it during the time I had the least severe nausea and stopped when I said stop. It was not fun, but was helpful. You can have pregnancy-related gum disease that needs treatment. After each of my kids, I had to have 5 or so fillings added or replaced. I won't have more, but am just about out of places to fill!

Take care and do the best you can. If you can't stand toothpaste, don't use it. If you can't stand to brush, use a water jet cleaner, etc. Just try to do something to care for your teeth and gums.

Kimber
HER Foundation Director
kimber@hyperemesis.org

[otiam]

Kimber,

I also had to have 3 fillings replaced after my pregnancy...My doctor did say it was most likely caused by all the vomitting....I also encourage everyone to try hard to do anything you can to take care of your teeth. I didn't brush but I would try to at least rinse with water...and even mouthwash if I could just get it in and out fast.

Amber

[MamaLily]

I was hoping to conceive earlier this year and talked with my dentist about ways to prevent decay during HG. Apparently pregnancies in general are hard on the mom's teeth, and HG pregnancies are even worse. I had 9 cavities after HG, and I even brushed my teeth several times a day!

Anyway, my dentist recommended that I use a prescription toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The brand I have is Sensodyne. He said that if I use this toothpaste before TTC, my teeth will have a chance to gain strength before HG. I guess toothpastes for sensitive teeth actually fortify your teeth against decay. And by using those toothpastes during pregnancy, the decay could hopefully be prevented or lessened!

I'll copy this into the "Preparing" folder as well.

- Anna

[emily]

Oh Anna, that is a great bit of info. I already had a lot of cavaties (just one of those kids) but what the HG did was actually cause cavaties under my fillings, so I had to have 4 fillings replaced. I guess my analganam fillings were getting pretty worn anyhow, I had several replaced with composite. I have been a pretty good person as far as dental care since I had my braces in high school, but I just could not do so much as swish when I had HG for several months.

[otiam]

Thank you Anna, that is a great bit of information. I'm sure a lot of people can benefit from this. Thank you for sharing...it's so nice to know we can all help each other!!

Amber