- Counseling before childbirth makes the parents familiar with the mechanism of the development of oral structures, their function, and the disease process of the teeth, providing the necessary recommendations for prevention.
- Such counseling provides the necessary information on the mother’s nutrition and health-related behaviors during pregnancy (including the effects of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol), the importance of the mother’s oral health during pregnancy, and the recommended timing for the mother’s dental treatments.
- Since in many cases, cariogenic bacteria are transferred from the mother to the child, pre-birth counseling should include discussions on preventive measures that can stop the transfer of pathogenic microorganisms, such as a change in mother’s diet, fluoride therapy, use of chlorhexidine, restoration or extraction of carious teeth, use of xylitol-containing products, etc.
- During the pre-birth counseling, information is presented about the time and sequence of tooth eruption because there are variations in the time and sequence of eruption, causing anxiety in mothers.
- Tooth eruption and its mechanism are other subjects discussed during the pre-birth counseling to make the parents aware of these subjects.
- During the counseling, instructions are provided for systematic dental examinations, especially the time for the first dental examination and its importance.
