Periodontal disease and pregnancy outcome
Current evidence suggests an association between periodontal disease and increased risk of systemic diseases such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Since the first report on the association between periodontal disease and preterm low birth in 1996 there has been an established link between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm birth, low birth weight, miscarriage, and preeclampsia. Additionally, in 2003 a randomized controlled trial indicated that periodontal treatment consisting of scaling root planning to pregnant women with periodontitis may reduce the risk of preterm birth before 37 weeks of gestation and very preterm birth before 35 weeks of gestation.
Chronic periodontal infections can produce both local and systemic inflammatory response. The activation of the maternal inflammatory cell response and cytokine release plays an important role in the pathophysiological process of preterm birth, low birth weight and preeclampsia.
However, the limited number of randomized controlled trials prevents us from drawing a solid and clear conclusion. There is definite need for additional well-designed epidemiological studies that will test the hypothesis that periodontal treatment can significantly reduce the rates of certain adverse pregnancy outcomes.
