Does a Stressed Out Pregnancy Lead to Oral Health Issues in Children?
Posted on 8/9/2021 by Office - Boone DMD
When your stress response fires day after day, it could put your health at serious risk. Further, when an expecting mother battles stress day after day, she could see oral health issues emerge as her child grows. New research suggests that stress can affect your unborn baby in surprising ways.
Stress and Pregnancy
Tooth decay is the number one chronic illness among kids in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recently, studies have been conducted to determine if there is a link between stressful pregnancies and oral health issues in children. The combination of poor oral hygiene and high sugar intake is detrimental to the teeth of our youth. However, researchers suggest that the level of stress the mother experiences during her pregnancy may also play a role in her children's oral health. Other factors were noted as well. The mother's socioeconomic status, whether the mother breastfed her baby, the number of child dental visits, and what the kids ate are all variables that make it hard to pin tooth decay on stress levels alone. However, it is worth noting that stress during a pregnancy could affect the child's oral health. This is why it is so important that expecting mothers get additional dental care throughout the pregnancy.
Choose Joy
Stress in utero could be a potential risk factor for oral health issues in children. If that is the case, we want to help mothers in every way possible to reduce their stress and do our part to promote the baby's health. Give our office a call if you have any dental issues you would like to discuss. We can also help you begin the process of understanding your baby's future dental needs. This will help you start your child off on the right foot when it comes to their dental care.
When your stress response fires day after day, it could put your health at serious risk. Further, when an expecting mother battles stress day after day, she could see oral health issues emerge as her child grows. New research suggests that stress can affect your unborn baby in surprising ways.