A German folk saying thatb means "every child costs the mother one tooth" may hold a lot of truth. Women who gave birth to more children tended to lose moreteeth during their lives, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, US researcher found.
They examined data on 2635 American women ages between 18 to 64, sorting the nationally representatives sample into three categories - low , middle and high socioeconomics status. In the highest socioeconomic group, women with no children were missing on average less than one tooth, those with one child were missing about two teeth and those with four or more were missing about five teeth.
Among the women in the lowest socioeconomic group, those with no children on average were missing two teeth,those with one child were missing an average of three teeth and those with four or more were missing more than eight teeth. The trendalso held true in the middle-economic group, said the researchers at New York University and Yale University in Connecticut. "It seems that having more children is related to having fewer teeth," New York University dental professor Dr Stefanie Russell, who led the research published in the American Journal of Public Health, said in a telephone interview.
"People might say that happens because women who are poor have more children and women who are poor are not going to be able to effort the dentist," she said. "But we found that it was true across all socioeconomics levels." The study did not break down the result by race. This was the first large US study to show such findings, Russell said. Earlier studies elsewhere have shown similar results, in particular Scandinavian research from the 1980s.
Women are more prone to gingivitis during pregnancy, when the response of the oral tissues to the bacteria in the mouth is altered, Russell said. Gingivitis occurs when bacteria build up between the teeth and gums, causing inflammation and bleeding. Untreated it can lead to more serious gum disease and eventually tooth loss.
In addition, Russel said, womenmay be less likely to see a dentist while pregnant, perhaps in part because they want to avoid dental X-rays due to concerns over radiation exposure. women with multiple children may also forgo their own dental care, possibly due to lack of money or time, Russell said. - Reuters
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Women in general should look at this problem which most of the time are related to low calcium, even more during pregnancies as it is Allah's will that the child shall get the amount required from the mother should the amount is insufficient to share between them. Therefore drink more milk or go for Calcium Magnesium supplement.
