March is the month we traditionally celebrate motherhood and everything mothers do.

Becoming a parent will often completely change the way we live our lives and in the mother’s case, causes change to their bodies. A mother’s body will grow a completely new organ – the placenta – starting from only a few cells. This will continue to grow until it weighs around one pound.

The human body goes through some amazing transformations as it develops another human life. And the mouth is not immune to those changes either.

So, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we thought we’d pull together a few quick facts about oral health during pregnancy to help ensure you keep your smile in tip top condition.

Completely amazing, but true – a recent study has suggested oral bacteria can pass to the womb from the mouth.

However, scientists could not establish whether the bacteria was still alive by the time it reached the foetus.

The study reinforces the importance of looking after our teeth during pregnancy. It’s not just the mother’s oral health that could be impacted.

Unfortunately many pregnant mothers-to-be suffer from morning sickness. This is thought to be due to a hormone released during the early stages of pregnancy to help the fertilised egg attach to the uterine lining.

Morning sickness, as well as making life for some very difficult and uncomfortable, can cause erosion of our teeth due to the acid reflux. It is important to swill our mouths with water after any such episode.

It’s also important to avoid brushing our teeth for at least 30 minutes after any acid attack, such as any dietary acid (eg fruits, fizzy drinks, and much more!) and from reflux (tummy acids).

Acid attacks soften the tooth’s enamel, so brushing during this time will remove even more healthy enamel.

Instead, it’s best to swill our mouths with water (or an alkaline liquid), and then brush our teeth as part of our twice daily routine, after about an hour when the pH in our oral cavity has returned to normal.