Originally published January 2 2006
Study claims that gingivitis in mothers can predict premature births
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Kenneth A. Krebs, president of the American Academy of Periodontology, comments on a recent study in South America that found gingivitis among pregnant women predicts premature birth and low birth weights.
Women who develop gingivitis (gum disease) during pregnancy, as many do, are at increased risk for delivering prematurely and of delivering an infant of low birth weight, according to a study conducted in South America.
Periodontal therapy to get rid of the bacteria that dwell in the plaque that coats the teeth significantly lowers the risk of preterm/low birth weight (PT/LBW), according to a report in the Journal of Periodontology.
Studies have shown that infection in the mother plays a key role in about half of all cases of premature delivery, Dr. Nestor J. Lopez from the University of Chile in Santiago and colleagues who conducted the study note in their report.
Periodontal infections may be among the maternal infections associated with this and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
In their study, Lopez and colleagues randomly assigned 870 pregnant women at low risk for PT/LBW but who had gum disease to no periodontal therapy or to periodontal therapy consisting of plaque control, scaling, and daily rinsing with bacteria-busting chlorhexidine.
The researchers found that the incidence of PT/LBW was markedly lower in the women who received periodontal therapy for their gum disease compared with those who received no treatment for their gum disease.
The significant association between untreated gingivitis and preterm birth remained strong after adjusting for the major risk factors for preterm delivery, "suggesting that gingivitis is an independent risk factor for PT/LBW," the investigators say.
In this study, periodontal therapy in women with pregnancy-associated gingivitis reduced the PT/LBW rate by 68 percent, which supports two previous intervention studies in which periodontal treatment reduced the incidence of PT/LBW between 71 percent and 84 percent in pregnant women with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis, Lopez and colleagues note.
"Pregnancy-associated gingivitis is a preventable and easy to treat disease," Krebs noted in a statement.
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