Health: Do You Dare See A Dentist?

What do dental X rays have to do with pregnancy? Scientists don't really know, but the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports the surprising finding that a woman's risk of having a low-birth-weight baby at full term more than triples if she has her teeth X-rayed while pregnant. This is not a good reason to avoid the dentist, however. Other studies have shown that women with periodontal disease have a three to five times greater risk of preterm childbirth than those with healthy teeth and gums.