Maternal Health - Oral Health

Oral Health

Maternal oral health has been shown to effect the well-being of both the mother and her unborn fetus.

Oral health has long been considered an arena of its own, distinct from general health, but there has been a recent push to bring together these two fields. The 2000 Surgeon’s General Report stresses the interdependence of oral health on the overall health and well being of an individual. Oral health is essential to overall health, especially during perinatal period and the future development of their children. Proper management of oral health has benefits to both mother and child. Furthermore, lack of understanding or maintenance of good oral health for pregnant women may have adverse effects on them and their children. Hence, it is imperative to educate mothers regarding the significance of oral health. Moreover, collaboration and support among physicians across various fields, especially among family practitioners and obstetricians, is essential in addressing the concerns for maternal oral health.

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