Pregnancy and Dental Care

A recent article from The Huffington Post reported that certain groups of pregnant women in the U.S. are not receiving appropriate dental care. This is alarming to say the least, since dental care is especially important during pregnancy. Furthermore, since we generally tend to presume that the United States has one of the best dental care establishments in the world, it's confusing as to why this particular demographic isn't getting the care they need.

According to the study, which pulled data from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, more pregnant women over age 35 (86 percent) said their teeth were in good condition, compared to just 57 percent of pregnant women younger than 24. Researchers also found that young pregnant women were less likely than their peers who were not pregnant to report going to the dentist over the past year.

Oil Pulling - Is it really good for your dental health?

If you've been paying attention to popular media, you'll probably recall the oil pulling craze that everyone was talking about earlier this year. As with most social media topics, oil pulling was in the forefront of people's news feeds and even the subject of debate among some health professionals, but the hype has already died down quite a bit. Still, there are those who swear by it and continue to claim that this ancient holistic method works wonders, aiding in everything from teeth whitening to allergy relief.

But is oil pulling really all it's cracked up to be? While we can't necessarily discount the potential benefits of oil pulling, as dental professionals we can say that this practice is NOT a substitute for the traditional dental hygiene methods recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA). These methods include daily brushing and flossing as well as regular yearly dental cleanings, oral cancer screenings and using ADA-accepted products.