Caring For Your Teeth During Pregnancy

By Diana Kohnle, HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Pregnancy means taking better care of yourself -- including your teeth.

The American Dental Association suggests:

• Brush and floss teeth regularly, and rinse each night with a fluoride mouth wash. See your dentist for checkups, and tell him or her that you're pregnant.
• Look for any changes in your mouth. Ask your dentist if you need more frequent cleanings.
• Get plenty of calcium, protein, phosphorous and vitamins A, C and D to help baby develop strong teeth.
• Rinse with a teaspoon of baking soda diluted in water if you're vomiting frequently. This will help get rid of acid on your teeth.
• Keep caring for your teeth and baby's after delivery.

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Sink your Teeth into Dental History

Vadodara: Chewable toothbrush, pre-pasted toothbrush, gold toothbrush, lipstick toothbrush, three-sided toothbrush, solar-powered toothbrush - this collection has every kind of toothbrush you can imagine and more. From ancient dentistry set-ups to toothbrushes playing pop songs, a father-son duo is set to change the dreadful trip to a dentist to a unique experience.

Nation's first dental museum will be launched in the city on Sunday. The museum has over 1,000 artifacts from across the globe chronicling the evolution of dentistry. It exhibits the collections of Dr Yogesh Chandrana that he found over the past four decades during his numerous trips.

"I would find statuettes and other artifacts about dentistry and started buying them purely because they caught my attention. Over the years, my collection grew and putting them together as a museum became the prime objective," said Yogesh. The father-son duo has been working on the design and display of the museum for the past five years.

Apart from various toothbrushes made from bones and ivory used centuries ago, the museum is home to stamps, postcards and rare literature dedicated to dentistry. The museum also includes many interactive sections for children and adults.

"We understand that people expect museum to be a serious affair per se. But, we have decisively kept the museum interactive, dynamic and easy to understand so that patients can relax while waiting at the clinic," said his son and orthodontist Dr Pranav Chandarana.

The museum also includes the various mythological stories from across global cultures on teeth. From tooth temple of Sri Lanka, ancient dental instruments, currencies recognizing prominent dentists and post cards from British India announcing the visit of the nation's only female dentist to check women in purdah to the first ever electronic tooth brush - the museum successfully brings the complete journey of dental care from ancient civilizations to modern technologies under one roof.

If India is too far away, try checking out the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, MD.