Take 20: Oral Health & Pregnancy

Outcomes
After attending this Take 20 participants will learn:
· Knowledge about the connections between pregnancy and oral health
· Strategies for assessment and management of oral health issues among pregnant persons

Interprofessional oral health strategies that can be used in dental and medical settings to promote oral health care for parents and their children.

Description
This presentation will cover how oral health and pregnancy are connected, and how good oral care during pregnancy is essential to promoting positive birth outcomes and lifelong oral health care among parents and their children.
Oral health and overall health are now regarded as essential to the health of pregnant persons, their infants, and young children. Parents’ oral health status is a predictor of children’s oral health. During pregnancy, oral health can affect the overall health of both the pregnant individual and their unborn children, as many physiological changes occur in the body during pregnancy. The mouth is particularly susceptible to hormonal changes that increase the likelihood of oral health problems which are associated with low birth weight, prematurity, and early childhood caries. Despite over a decade of studies and publications emphasizing the need for oral health care for people while pregnant, access to dental care during for these individuals continues to be limited, and integration of oral health competencies are often absent in dental and medical education and practice.

Connection to OPEN’s Blueprint
· Advance oral health policy (e.g., emphasize the consumer voice in policy and advocacy work)
· Integrate dental and medical (e.g., advocate for more resources to fund pilot projects that use integrated models of care and payment models that reward improved health outcomes)
· Emphasize prevention (e.g., work to increase the types of oral health services covered by medical plans)

Please contact Valerie Guerrero-Henao with questions