Um, Can You Use a Vibrator While Pregnant?
Maybe youre a nighttimemouth breather, or you havent sipped enough water throughout the day.
But when youre pregnant?
Your mouth might get drier than the Sahara desert on the daily.
Experts in This Article
board-certified OB/GYN and author ofShe-ology: The Definitive Guide to Womens Intimate Health.
What causes dry mouth during pregnancy?
board-certified OB/GYN and author ofShe-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period
Pregnant people are more likely to produce less saliva, which leads to dry mouth.
Here are a few reasons why:
1.
When you dont make enough spit, your mouth can become really dry.
Otherdehydration side effectscan include headache, fatigue, or dark-colored urine, per theMayo Clinic.
Dehydration can also raise your risk of certain pregnancy complications.
More research is needed to determine this claim.
A more-frequent need to pee is also a possible symptom, per the CDC.
Here are a few tips to do so, per the CDC:
4.
Thrush
Your pregnancy dry mouth might be related to an overgrowth of oral fungus.
board-certified OB/GYN and author ofShe-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period
This throws off the balance of flora in your mouth, which can cause a cottony feeling.
Swollen nasal passages
Nope, youre not imagining things: your nose is definitely stuffier during pregnancy.
But a stuffy nose can trigger a domino effect that leads to dry mouth, Dr. Ross says.
Swollen nasal passages force you to breathe through your mouth, she says.
And mouth breathing can dry out your oral cavity.
To decrease dry mouth in this scenario, you first need to deal with your nose.
A stuffy nose due to pregnancy rhinitis can also make you snore like a motorboat.
Problem is snoring leads to mouth breathing, Dr. Ross says.
As we know, mouth breathing can contribute to dry mouth.
Theyll likely want to rule out any underlying health conditions like sleep apnea.
Medications
Your dry mouth might be connected to something youre taking in your medicine cabinet.
Check in with your doctor firstthey might be able to adjust your dose or prescribe a different drug.
Stress
Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also be stressful.
Thats exactly what a December 2017 study in theJournal of Dental Research, Dental Clinics, Dental Prospects2found.
Anxiety, stress, and depression can reduce salivary flow and contribute to dry mouth.
It makes sense: The more spit you get flowing, the less dry your mouth will feel.
Fortunately, home remedies can help relieve the discomfort of dry mouth.
And over time, it may even affect your teeth and gums.
When in doubt, get checked outfor the sake of you and your baby.
FAQ
When does dry mouth start in pregnancy?
But is dry mouth asign ofpregnancy?
Youre more likely to have other symptoms first, like nausea, loss of your period, and fatigue.
Is bad breath a common symptom in pregnancy?
As we learned, hormonal changes during pregnancy can decrease saliva production (hence the cotton mouth situation).
Bad breath can also be a sign of pregnancy gingivitisor inflammation of the gums.
Again, you’re free to blame your surging hormones for this.
Rising estrogen and progesterone levels trigger changes in your body that make you more susceptible to gingivitis in pregnancy.
In fact, as many as 75 percent of birthing people will have inflamed gums, per theCleveland Clinic.
How much water should I drink during pregnancy?
Dry eye, its clinical subtypes and associated factors in healthy pregnancy: A cross-sectional study.
2021 Oct 7;16(10):e0258233.
Erratum in: PLoS One.
2022 Jan 27;17(1):e0263426.
PMID: 34618845; PMCID: PMC8496781.
J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects.
2017 Fall;11(4):247-252. doi: 10.15171/joddd.2017.043.
Epub 2017 Dec 13.
PMID: 29354252; PMCID: PMC5768958.
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