A novel study suggests that women who are trying to conceive are advised to brush their teeth as well as floss. The remarkable advice appears after researchers found that would be mothers conceived two months earlier if they kept their gums clean.
Usually gum disease is caused by the bacteria that everybody has in their mouth. This can cause inflammation and space around the teeth. From here it can pass through into the circulatory system and can harm other parts of the body. The researchers from the University of Western Australia in Perth carried out a study that included more than three thousand women.
They followed those women over the course of pregnancy. They reviewed about how the study subjects had planned their pregnancy and how it turned out. The result of the study showed that women suffering Periodontal or gum disease took more than seven months to get pregnant in comparison other without gum disease took five months to get pregnant.
Other aspect such as age, weight and habit of smoking all impact on a woman’s ability to conceive were also taken into account. According to study author Prof Roger Hart, up till now, there have been no published studies that investigate if gum disease can affect a woman’s chance of conceiving.
Hence, this is the first report to suggest that gum disease might be one of several aspects that could be customized to improve the chances of a pregnancy. The statistics suggest that the presence of periodontal or gum disease is a variable risk aspect, which can increase a woman’s time to conception, added Prof Hart.
All women who are planning for a family should be encouraged to see their GP make sure that they are as healthy as possible before trying to conceive. Moreover, it now appears that all women should also be encouraged to see their dentist to have any gum disease treated before trying to conceive. It is easily treated, usually involving no more than four dental visits, sated Pro Hart.