Perinatal Oral Health Consensus Guidelines Coming Soon!

There has been much attention recently surrounding oral health during pregnancy thanks to growing evidence that providing comprehensive oral health care to women before, during and after conception is important to overall health and reduces the incidence of early childhood caries.  

In order to translate this evidence into clinical practice, dental and medical professionals recognized the need to reach consensus on the safety of dental care during pregnancy, educate their peers and in turn, the public.

The CDA Foundation in partnership with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) addressed this need by convening a group of dental and obstetric experts in February to present the latest science on oral health and pregnancy. More than 100 health professionals attended the conference representing dentistry, obstetrics and other disciplines to provide their reaction to the presentations. Their input was considered during the expert panel and advisory committee deliberations the following day when draft guidelines began to take shape.  The guidelines derived from this process are currently under review by both bodies.

According to Program Director, Rolande Loftus, the guidelines will be complete in late fall, and will be posted on the CDA Foundation web site. “Once the guidelines are in place, we will begin the dissemination process of the Perinatal Oral Health Guidelines to both medical and dental professionals through a variety of venues. We will also begin the process of messaging to the public.”