Brush and Floss Your Teeth, For Your Baby’s Sake

Posted on January 22, 2010 in Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies, Women's Health

A new study has found that pregnant women who have untreated gum disease such as gingivitis may be putting the lives of their babies at risk.

Mothers-to-be who allow oral bacteria to go unchecked can cause their babies to be born with low birth weight or prematurely, a new study finds. In one case, bacteria from a mother’s gums led to an infection in a full-term baby that was stillborn, according to an MSNBC.com report.

The dangers of gum disease bacteria to unborn babies have been reported before, but the new study from researchers at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio is the first to connect a mother’s gum infection to a stillborn birth, officials said.

Earlier studies of the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum in mice found the bacteria could spread from the bloodstream to the placenta. The university study was designed to determine whether the same was possible in people.

The researchers said bacteria from a mother’s mouth can easily enter her bloodstream once her gums are open and bleeding. From there, the bacteria can be quickly passed to the fetus through the placenta.

The California woman whose baby was stillborn reportedly experienced heavy bleeding from her gums associated with gum disease during her pregnancy. About 75 percent of pregnant women develop the condition due to normal hormonal changes and mild gum disease can be treated simply by brushing and flossing more often, researchers said. However, more serious cases of bloody gums during pregnancy may require dental surgery.

While the study’s findings and the report of the stillborn baby may scare many expectant mothers and drive them to obsessively brush and floss, physicians caution against feeling overly alarmed, MSNBC.com reports.

“This is just one case,” said Dr. Richard H. Beigi, an obstetric infectious disease specialist and an assistant professor of reproductive science at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Most pregnant women have bleeding gums and most don’t have dead babies. This can happen, but it’s rare. And this finding doesn’t mean that it’s increasing.”