Pregnancy Gingivitis and Its Implications

How does pregnancy affect your patients' teeth and gums?About half of women experience pregnancy gingivitis. This condition can be uncomfortable and cause swelling, bleeding, redness or tenderness in the gum tissue. Conversely, periodontal disease, may affect the health of your patient's baby.
Is periodontal disease linked to pre-term low birth-weight babies?Studies have shown a relationship between periodontal disease and pre-term, low birth-weight babies. In fact, pregnant women with periodontal disease may be seven times more likely to have a baby that's born too early and too small. Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection of the gums and bone surrounding the teeth. It is believed that the bacteria associated with periodontal disease are responsible for increased levels of prostaglandin (PGE2) before the ninth month of pregnancy. PGE2 is a protein responsible for inducing labor. When the PGE2 levels rise significantly before the ninth month of pregnancy, early labor is triggered. Premature onset of labor is responsible for low birth weight babies. These findings have taken into account other pre-term risk factors such as the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco and level of prenatal care, nutrition and vaginal infections. While a normal pregnancy is about 40 weeks, babies born before the 36th week of pregnancy and weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces (about 2.5 kilograms) are called pre-term, low birth weight babies. These babies often face extra challenges such as slow development, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and serious health problems including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and chronic lung disease. What if you diagnose your patient with periodontal disease during her pregnancy?Scaling and root planing may be recommended. Research suggests that scaling and root planing may reduce the risk of pre-term births in pregnant women with periodontal disease. The added bonus is that the procedure should alleviate many of the uncomfortable symptoms associated with pregnancy gingivitis, such as swelling and tenderness of the gums.