Morning Sickness Tips: Is the Flavour of Your Toothpaste Making You Gag?

Dentist Blog

If you're suffering from morning sickness, you may be finding it hard to maintain the kind of oral health routine you had before you got pregnant. Some women find the act of brushing hard as it triggers their gag reflexes; others find that the taste of a toothpaste makes them feel sick, rather than the brushing itself. If you can't stand the taste of your regular toothpaste now that you're pregnant, it's worth looking for alternatives that may appeal to your newly-changed tastebuds.

Look for Alternative Flavours

According to Essential Baby, it's quite common for your taste likes and dislikes to change when you're pregnant. You may crave tastes that you once hated or may find that you can no longer tolerate tastes you liked before your pregnancy. This may apply to your toothpaste as well as food and drink.

While you may understand that you need to keep brushing your teeth, you may not be able to face doing it with the toothpaste you used to use. You may find the whole process easier by finding a toothpaste with a taste that is more tolerable for you. For example, the following flavours may taste better to you when you're pregnant:

• Mild mint: Sometimes, it's the strength of flavours that make you feel ill when you're pregnant, rather than the flavours themselves. Switching to a toothpaste with a slightly different or a more subtle flavour may help. For example, if you're struggling with a strongly-flavoured peppermint toothpaste, you may be able to tolerate a toothpaste that is flavoured with spearmint or a milder mint concentration.
• Ginger toothpaste: Ginger is a natural remedy for sickness. If your toothpaste is making you feel sick or is making your morning sickness worse, you may find that the taste of a ginger toothpaste helps settle your nausea reflex.
• Fruit flavours: If you can tolerate fruity flavours, you may find that switching from a mint to a fruit-flavoured toothpaste quells your nausea or appeals to your changing taste buds.
• Neutral flavours: If you can't settle on an acceptable flavour or find that any flavour of toothpaste makes you feel ill, a neutral toothpaste that has no added flavourings may be worth a try.

Try Kid's Toothpastes

If you can't find an adult toothpaste that you can use comfortably, you may be able to find a children's toothpaste with a flavour to suit you. Mint toothpastes that are designed for kids often have a very mild minty taste. Some products also come in a wider range of fruit or sweet flavours than adult toothpastes, giving you more options to choose from.

While a toothpaste for kids will clean your teeth, you need to remember that the toothpaste may have less fluoride in it than a toothpaste designed for adults. According to the Raising Children Network, too much fluoride can damage young children's developing teeth, and you may find that a toothpaste designed for younger children may not give you all the fluoride you need as an adult. If in doubt, talk to your dentist, who may recommend that you also use a fluoride mouthwash to compensate.

Drop the Toothpaste if All Else Fails

If you can't find a toothpaste that suits you, you can skip using a paste and simply brush your teeth with water in the short term, according to the Better Health Channel. If you have to do this, it's worth also using a fluoridated mouthwash to compensate for the lack of fluoride you'll be getting.

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21 April 2016