A Study of Oral Health Care Education and Therapy to Reduce Gingivitis During Pregnancy

Adverse pregnancy outcomes are significant personal and public health issues in the United States where approximately 12% of all births are pre-term (<37 weeks gestation). Care for these neonates accounts for over 5 million neonatal intensive care hospital stays each year and close to $6 Billion in annual health care costs. Premature delivery and low birth weight (LBW) are leading determinates of neonatal mortality and serious morbidity often leading to neurological and developmental restrictions in early childhood. Concomitant to these data are significant social and psychological consequences related to maternal and family distress and the effects of personal loss.

The role of maternal periodontitis as a potential stressor having detrimental effects on pregnancy outcomes is a relatively new area of investigation. Nevertheless, increasing evidence exists to support an association between maternal periodontal disease, a chronic anaerobic inflammatory condition of the oral cavity, and adverse pregnancy outcomes including pre-term birth (PTB) and fetal growth restriction. This is particularly true with very early-in-gestation delivery.

After adjusting for age, race, smoking and parity, a prospective study of over one-thousand pregnant women conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) demonstrated that periodontal disease is associated with an increased risk of pre-term birth (PTB) by an odds ratio 4-7, depending on disease severity. These data showed a 55% prevalence of periodontal disease among this cohort; a much higher prevalence than had been reported in national surveys.

The mechanisms responsible for this association remain unclear. However, substantial data suggest that systemic inflammation, as measured by serum C-reactive protein and other inflammatory mediators may well underlie the observed associations.

Investigators hypothesize that links between maternal infections and pre-term bith involve microbes and host response to microbes that enter the uterine cavity during pregnancy. In cases of remote infection, such as periodontitis, this may occur via a blood-bourne route which triggers an alteration in the normal cytokine and hormone regulatory gestation that can result in premature labor, early rupture of membranes and preterm birth.