Many women make a conscious effort to go to the internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology departments of hospitals for relevant physical examinations and laboratory tests before planning a pregnancy to ensure that their bodies are in the best condition before conception. But did you know that there is another essential checkup that should not be missed – oral health care? Is there a connection between preparing for pregnancy and the mouth? The answer is yes. This is because the occurrence of many common diseases during pregnancy is closely related to whether or not you have an oral exam. Generally speaking, you should have such items of oral examination before pregnancy: gingivitis and periodontitis: after pregnancy, the level of estrogen in women’s body rises significantly, especially the level of progesterone rises very high, which will make the blood vessels in the gums proliferate, and the permeability of blood vessels is enhanced, which can easily induce gingivitis, which is called “gingivitis during pregnancy”. Studies have confirmed that women who did not suffer from gingivitis before pregnancy have a much lower rate and severity of gingivitis during pregnancy, while women who suffered from gingivitis or periodontitis before pregnancy will have more severe inflammation after pregnancy, with gums becoming enlarged, swollen and bleeding significantly, and some gums will grow to a tumor shape, called “gingival tumors in pregnancy”, which bleed extremely easily and can prevent eating in severe cases. In addition, the increased toxicity of bacteria in the patient’s periodontal pockets and the damage to periodontal bone tissue are aggravated, often causing the loosening and loss of multiple teeth. In case of moderate or severe periodontitis, the chances of pregnant women giving birth to premature and low birth weight babies are also greatly increased. Therefore, the examination and systematic treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis should be carried out before pregnancy. Tooth decay: It is also commonly known as tooth decay. Pre-pregnancy physiological changes and changes in eating habits, as well as negligence in oral care, often aggravate the development of tooth decay. Once acute pulpitis or apical inflammation breaks out, it will not only bring unbearable pain to the pregnant woman, but also cause adverse effects to the fetus if the medicine is not taken carefully. In addition, it has been proved that the possibility of tooth decay in the baby born from a mother with tooth decay is greatly increased, one of the reasons is that the mother is the earliest transmitter of tooth decay-causing bacteria in the baby’s mouth, and the Streptococcus pyogenes in the pregnant woman’s mouth can be transmitted vertically from mother to child. Therefore, curing tooth decay before pregnancy is good for both you and your baby. Obstructed wisdom teeth: Obstructed wisdom teeth are the last molar in the mouth (commonly known as the “back teeth”) that cannot fully erupt due to the obstruction of the jawbone and other teeth, resulting in part of the tooth being covered by the gums. The third mandibular molar is the most common. There is a deep gap between the body of the wisdom tooth and the gum (medically known as the “blind pocket”), which can easily accumulate food debris, leading to bacterial growth and reproduction and directly causing acute and chronic inflammation, commonly referred to as “wisdom tooth pericoronitis”. The most important thing is that you should be able to get rid of your wisdom teeth before you get pregnant, because the wisdom teeth erupt after the age of 18, and the wisdom teeth are most likely to occur between the ages of 20 and 35, and this age is the time when women of childbearing age choose to get pregnant. Oral hygiene: If you are planning to get pregnant, you should go to a dentistry department (preferably one that specializes in examining pregnant women) to have your oral hygiene checked and receive health guidance from your dentist, which is a very crucial point. You need to know how to brush and floss properly, and when it is safe to treat oral diseases during pregnancy, etc.