(REUTERS) 29 May 2008:

According to a recent study, the more children a woman has, the more teeth she will lose during her lifetime. The knee-jerk reaction is to say that women in the lower socioeconomic groups tend to have more children and also can’t afford to go to the dentist.  The surprising thing about the study, however, is that the tooth loss occured at all socioeconomic levels.  Why? Well scientists say it could be because women are more prone to gingivitis during pregnancy. Women may also be less likely to see a dentist while pregnant. It’s also hard to go sit in a dentist’s chair for an hour when you are primary caregiver for several children.