Aileen Cordero's Case Report

Today I saw my special need patient, Aileen Cordero. She is 19 weeks pregnant and her chief complaint was that she has been bleeding when she brushes her teeth. The patient is under a gynecologist care and so far, presents a healthy pregnancy. She is taking prenatal multivitamins and does not have morning sickness. Her blood pressure was under 120/80 mm/Hg, pulse 100 bpm, and respiration was 25. Patient stated that she brushes her teeth twice a day, but flossed once a week, and uses the mouth rise occasionally. Also, she stated that she drinks soft drinks once a week and sweet 2x a week. While doing my assessment, I found generalized BOP, pockets depths of 4-5 mm, bulbous papilla and lightly red buccal gingival margin, and no exudate,
my periodontal diagnosed was plaque induced gingivitis associated with pregnancy. My treatment plan for my patient was to educate her on the plaque formation, its relationship with periodontal disease, and the daily need to remove it to maintain
Also, I did power instrumentation of the whole mouth and debridement. Using the typodont, I showed to the patient the modified bass brushing technique, the proper way of flossing, and had her practiced both on the typodont. I recommended her to brush at least twice a day (morning after breakfast and nighttime), floss and use the mouth rinse once a day (preferable at nighttime). In addition, for patient education I discussed the relationship of periodontal diseases and pregnancy since several studies have suggested that women with periodontal disease may be more likely to deliver babies prematurely or with low-birth weight than mothers with healthy gums. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), babies with a birth weight of less than 5.5 pounds may be at risk of long-term health problems such as delayed motor skills, social growth, or learning disabilities Treating my special need patient, was a little challenging because she needed to take a few breaks to go to the restroom, and did not like the slow suction tip. Since she is going to be on her second trimester, she was find being on the chair on a supine position. I did offer to put the chair on a semi-supine position, but she refused and said that she was more comfortable