Abstract
Introduction Periodontal diseases are widespread in women of reproductive potential. Although
their treatment of these disorders contributes to oral health, there is still no
conclusive evidence that this intervention has a beneficial effect on the course of
pregnancy, in particular the rate of premature births. On the one hand, the aim of
the paper is a
systematic assessment of the association between periodontal diseases and pregnancy
complications, based on the current literature. On the other hand, the efficacy of
periodontal treatments
vs. no treatment in pregnant women should be assessed with the target criterion of
premature birth or other pregnancy complications.
Materials and methods The narrative review was based on the PRISMA statement. Premature births were defined
as primary endpoints, while various perinatal and maternal outcomes were
grouped together as secondary endpoints. An electronic database search for relevant
meta-analyses and systematic reviews was carried out in PubMed and the Cochrane database.
Methodological
characteristics and the results of the included studies were extracted. The RR or
OR (95% CI) was used to measure the result. The quality of the included studies was
assessed according to
the AMSTAR checklist.
Results Seven publications were included (total number of subjects n = 56755). The majority
of included studies do not demonstrate a significant association of periodontal disease
and/or periodontal treatment with certain childhood and/or maternal outcomes. The
quality of the included studies was deemed to be sufficient.
Conclusion Even today, there is insufficient evidence to confirm the correlation between periodontal
disease and certain maternal and/or infantile outcomes. Periodontal treatment
during pregnancy also does not seem to affect the risks of pregnancy. Nevertheless,
it is recommended that all pregnant women are advised to improve their daily oral
hygiene in order to
prevent inflammatory diseases, regardless of the progress of the pregnancy.
Keywords periodontal diseases - premature birth - adverse birth outcomes - pregnancy - evidence
