"Full term" pregnancy is considered to last for 280 days or 40 weeks from the first day of the women's last menstrual period (LMP). Premature or preterm birth is birth before 37 weeks of gestation. Scheduled caesarians or deliveries before 39 weeks can contribute to growth and development deficiencies, and increase the likelihood of future health problems for the baby, dependent on the week of gestation.Procedure Of Dental Instruments For Tooth Extraction? for more information. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that "premature birth is the biggest contributor for infant death (...)”. One in ten babies are born prematurely in the United States and "the premature birth rate in our country is higher than that in most other developed nations."5 While race and ethnicity play a large role in the preterm birth rates, other risks include smoking, diabetes, and chronic high blood pressure.1,6-8 Our conversations about pregnancy This November, before you order your turkey, think about what this time of year means to you. For me, it has always been family. I look around at the little ones this time of year and give thanks that I practiced hygiene before they were born. I was able to educate my siblings and their spouses on how to care for their children’s oral health before they were even nuggets. We have to start with the conversation now with soon-to-be or future parents. Once mothers are along in their pregnancy, they have already had bouts of stomach acid and lists of to-do's on their calendar. Stress has kicked in, and, if we haven’t done our job, then a "cleaning" is not important and we missed the best opportunity to promote "healthy moms and stronger babies." Prevention is the dental hygienist. The best scenario includes reaching all mothers before they are parents. I’ve had younger clinicians ask me why the patients bleed so much when they’re "healthy." One of my first questions is to ask for the gender. Females have tons of hormones dental lab equipment. Whether it’s from birth control pills, maturity, menopause, or menstruation, the fact is women have increased risk of gingivitis at some point in their lives, due to their gender. No matter when we start the conversation on premature birth, it needs to be started, and there is no better time than during the month of November. Start talking to women and young female adults about this before they get pregnant. Take a class. Ask employers about bringing up the talk if you are unsure. Ask a local gynecologist to deliver a speech in your community chapter or to go to their office for preventive strategies portable dental unit. Just as we can go to our local periodontist for calibration, the same rules apply within all health-care settings. This is truly the active definition of an inter-professional collaborative health-care team. Prevention means reaching these women before the embryo is in the womb. Instead of solely targeting those in the chair with the bump in the belly already, let’s make reducing preemies part of our risk assessment tool. If you need help identifying with how premature births impact the United States, aside from the obvious, consider that the average medical cost for a healthy baby is $4,389, while the cost for a premature baby is $54,194.5 During this November Prematurity Awareness Month, be on the look out for the purple lights throughout the country to remind you that you too can play in role in this awareness month Ultrasonic Scaler.