Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Dental Caries in Pregnancy.

Abstract

The early diagnosis of dental caries has an important role in pregnancy, as it allows establishing preventive measures. Besides the clinical examination, there are modern preclinical ways of detecting odontal lesions such as electrical conductivity (EC) and quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence (QLF). Dental radiography and three-dimensional (3D) orthopantomography, although useful, are forbidden during pregnancy (6). Bacteriological evaluation and early detection of demineralized areas allow preventive measures aimed at stopping the destructive process and permit measures for the restoration of the damaged dental structures. Regarding the treatment of caries, superficial coronal odontal lesions in enamel can be treated noninvasively by remineralization. Reconstruction, obturation or inscruction therapy involves loss of dental material, sometimes even healthy one; they are also expensive and stressful for the patient and therefore, remineralization and sealing of dental retention areas is the treatment of choice for children and pregnant women (8). For the restoration of the damaged dental structure, fluoride topics, laques or fluoride gels are applied locally (3). An adequate diet during pregnancy plays an important role in maintaining the general and oral health; it must be high in calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals, and it must have a balanced proportion of salts, carbohydrates and lipids. As with the rest of the population, proper dental brushing at least twice a day in the morning and evening as well as the use of yarn thread are effective ways of oral hygiene, which also prevent the appearance and evolution of dental caries (1).