Originally published September 27 2005
Gum disease may complicate pregnancy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Many young adults in their 20s may have gum disease and not even know it if they don't suffer any noticeable symptoms, but gum disease has been linked to health problems like heart disease, and young women who have gum disease and who are pregnant have an elevated risk of early delivery, research shows.
Young adults may want to make a special effort to care for their teeth and gums, even if their smiles look great, according to new research on gum disease.
Gum disease can start much earlier than you might expect, without obvious symptoms, and it could boost the odds of health problems including preterm birth in affected pregnant women.
Their findings were presented in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
That process can be under way when people are still in their 20s -- and it may start without obvious traces, the UNC studies show.
Many participants had gum disease without symptoms around their wisdom teeth, and their gum disease often worsened in just two years.
"That a quarter of patients in their 20s had periodontal problems with no symptoms was a surprise to us since most people assumed that you don't get periodontal problems until you are 35 or 40," says White in a news release.
* Most dentists advise removing wisdom teeth affected by gum disease.
* If patients want to keep wisdom teeth affected by gum disease, they need to commit to "a lifetime of aggressive treatment."
Gum disease has been linked to heart disease, higher odds of preterm birth, and other health problems.
They checked records of about 1,000 pregnant women.
About half of the moms-to-be had been referred to a university clinic due to high-risk pregnancies.
More than one in 10 of them had moderate to severe gum disease when the study started (13%).
That's more than twice as high as the estimated risk for the general public, the researchers note.
The odds of preterm delivery were highest for women with moderate to severe gum disease.
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