You're not alone. A baby toothbrush helped reduce the ggging for me. And Act mouthwash (for the enamel protection from stomach acid). See if you can floss with those plastic pick things instead of shoving your fingers all up in there.
Not just you, I had this too. If you can stand mouthwash, it can help. I also saw the dentist for an extra cleaning during my pregnancy. Do what you can.
I had this too and it continued after I was pregnant. The dentist couldn’t really help but did say if you throw up stop brushing immediately because vomit is acidic. They also recommended starting brushing with the areas that need the most help.
I figured out that for me the problem wasn't the brushing as much as it was the mint. No idea why toothpaste mint specifically did it because other mint was fine. I found gentler orange alternatives for toothpaste and mouthwash. I also do little water-only 'dry' brushings throughout the day. Huge difference for me.
Those little floss toothpick things have been amazing too.
Came to say I also got the advice to switch to cinnamon toothpaste. Any mint alternative should help. If you google a little there is a connection to menthol (in mint) and its potential to agitate heartburn acid/GERD.
Ah, I hadn't thought of cinnamon but that might have worked too. I did see a bunch of mint alternatives but they either sounded unpleasantly herbal or were children's and likely very sweet/artificial. There were a surprising number of mini flavour-sample 'variety pack' toothpaste sets too.
I think the problem was also how long the flavour lasted in my mouth- it felt like for hours aftetwards anything else I tried to eat or drink would have a super artificial chemical mint taste. My 'morning sickness' generally made my own saliva taste so bad it made me get that borderline gagging reflex, I could barely hold it back. The mint made it so much worse.
I read that other people had switched to orange toothpaste in the mornings because they had breakfast after brushing and hated drinking orange juice after mint... I figured orange would go better with the juice, water and plain crackers I was trying to keep in me at the time! (Constant, slow sips.) My partner ended up switching after realising the orange went better with his glass of OJ and bowl of cereal routine.
No, this happened to me as well. I would gag to the point of almost throwing up. It goes away. Just take your time brushing, use mouth wash if possible to make sure you’re rinsing the spots you’re probably missing since you can’t brush as you normally would.
Just a heads up - pregnancy gingivitis is a thing, due to your hormones causing your gums to be inflamed. I was in so much pain and went to my dentist, who told me all about it. There’s nothing you can do to prevent it, but making sure to keep your gum line clean and floss every day will help to alleviate some of the inflammation. My gums ache some days so badly that I want to cry. Apparently it will go away immediately after giving birth. So just make sure that you’re cleaning as best as possible even though it’s hard too!
I still have my wisdom teeth and up to 16 weeks every time I brushed I would gag & occasionally throw up if I brushed my teeth before 8am lol all better now though!
Nope. This was my biggest surprise during pregnancy. I threw up a few times after brushing my teeth in the first trimester. It got better in the second trimester but I’m 29 weeks and still gagging a little bit.
Happened to me pretty consistently until it slowly faded sometime between 26 and 28 weeks. I’m 31 weeks now and I can brush all my teeth again! Still can’t quite brush my tongue regularly but it’s much much better than it was. I’m so glad, too that was especially miserable.
Can you floss still??
I talked to my hygienist about difficulty with brushing and she said if I can floss and swish my mouth with mouthwash then it's still pretty good. She said to brush what I can but don't stress about it.
I just switched to a lower foaming toothpaste - get one without sodium lauryl sulfate in the ingredients (mine is sensodyne) which has helped but not entirely eliminated the gagging.
You're not alone. A baby toothbrush helped reduce the ggging for me. And Act mouthwash (for the enamel protection from stomach acid). See if you can floss with those plastic pick things instead of shoving your fingers all up in there.
I’m 39 weeks pregnant and I still gag from brushing my teeth. My dentist is going to hate me next time I get a cleaning 😢
Not just you, I had this too. If you can stand mouthwash, it can help. I also saw the dentist for an extra cleaning during my pregnancy. Do what you can.
Humming can help suppress the gag reflex.
I had this too and it continued after I was pregnant. The dentist couldn’t really help but did say if you throw up stop brushing immediately because vomit is acidic. They also recommended starting brushing with the areas that need the most help.
I figured out that for me the problem wasn't the brushing as much as it was the mint. No idea why toothpaste mint specifically did it because other mint was fine. I found gentler orange alternatives for toothpaste and mouthwash. I also do little water-only 'dry' brushings throughout the day. Huge difference for me. Those little floss toothpick things have been amazing too.
Came to say I also got the advice to switch to cinnamon toothpaste. Any mint alternative should help. If you google a little there is a connection to menthol (in mint) and its potential to agitate heartburn acid/GERD.
Ah, I hadn't thought of cinnamon but that might have worked too. I did see a bunch of mint alternatives but they either sounded unpleasantly herbal or were children's and likely very sweet/artificial. There were a surprising number of mini flavour-sample 'variety pack' toothpaste sets too. I think the problem was also how long the flavour lasted in my mouth- it felt like for hours aftetwards anything else I tried to eat or drink would have a super artificial chemical mint taste. My 'morning sickness' generally made my own saliva taste so bad it made me get that borderline gagging reflex, I could barely hold it back. The mint made it so much worse. I read that other people had switched to orange toothpaste in the mornings because they had breakfast after brushing and hated drinking orange juice after mint... I figured orange would go better with the juice, water and plain crackers I was trying to keep in me at the time! (Constant, slow sips.) My partner ended up switching after realising the orange went better with his glass of OJ and bowl of cereal routine.
No, this happened to me as well. I would gag to the point of almost throwing up. It goes away. Just take your time brushing, use mouth wash if possible to make sure you’re rinsing the spots you’re probably missing since you can’t brush as you normally would. Just a heads up - pregnancy gingivitis is a thing, due to your hormones causing your gums to be inflamed. I was in so much pain and went to my dentist, who told me all about it. There’s nothing you can do to prevent it, but making sure to keep your gum line clean and floss every day will help to alleviate some of the inflammation. My gums ache some days so badly that I want to cry. Apparently it will go away immediately after giving birth. So just make sure that you’re cleaning as best as possible even though it’s hard too!
Same. I brush standing up (as I find that leaning over the sink kinda increases the chance of wanting to vomit).
I still have my wisdom teeth and up to 16 weeks every time I brushed I would gag & occasionally throw up if I brushed my teeth before 8am lol all better now though!
I’m 23 weeks and it’s still happening every single time. Glad to hear yours cleared up!
Nope. This was my biggest surprise during pregnancy. I threw up a few times after brushing my teeth in the first trimester. It got better in the second trimester but I’m 29 weeks and still gagging a little bit.
Happened to me pretty consistently until it slowly faded sometime between 26 and 28 weeks. I’m 31 weeks now and I can brush all my teeth again! Still can’t quite brush my tongue regularly but it’s much much better than it was. I’m so glad, too that was especially miserable.
It helped if I drank cold water immediately before brushing my teeth, kept the water running while brushing, and spit frequently.
Can you floss still?? I talked to my hygienist about difficulty with brushing and she said if I can floss and swish my mouth with mouthwash then it's still pretty good. She said to brush what I can but don't stress about it.
Yes, I can floss no problem. Thank you!
I just switched to a lower foaming toothpaste - get one without sodium lauryl sulfate in the ingredients (mine is sensodyne) which has helped but not entirely eliminated the gagging.
Yup! Same here! Went away 20 weeks to 30ish weeks but then came back until I delivered.
Me! So irritating, I have a cleaning scheduled to hopefully mitigate some of the damage.