gingivitus and pregnancy

[wenders]

Hi. I went to the dentist after feeling soreness after eating on the upper right side of my mouth. He said the gums were inflamed, and said it was likely pregnancy induced gingivitus (I'm 27 weeks with twins). He was hesitant to do a deep cleaning b/c I have mitral valve prolapse w/ regurgitation, and would need antibiotics first. He prescribed chlorhexidine and told me to rinse with it, and then brush the gums with it, and to continue this until using up 3 large bottles. I've seen conflicting  info on whether to really use this in pregnancy. I know if it turned into something worse than gingivitus, then it could be dangerous in terms of preterm labor. I probably only have at most 8 weeks left of the pregnancy. Is there any alternative you can think of?
Thank you. Sorry for the long post!
Wendy

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

I am not sure why you could not be premedicated at this time of your pregnancy. Was your ob MD consulted. I think that three bottles of the chlorhexidine in a short period of time is too much. I think a scaling by the hygienist would be appropriate at this time. Good luck with the babies.

[NickyIsHere123]

Wenders,
Brush your gum line with Listerine 3x a day for the next month or two. You should see results...