Periodontal Diseases and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
Objective of the Review: To identify the facts contributing to premature delivery in patients with periodontal diseases; to discuss their potential impact over the course of pregnancy. Key Points. Despite all the achievement in contemporary medicine, annually 15 million children are born preterm, and the number of preterm babies is growing. The known risk factors of premature delivery are a history of premature deliveries, black race, low maternal body mass index, and (lately) periodontal diseases - gingivitis and parodontitis. Periodontal diseases are caused by numerous gram-negative and anaerobic bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola. Numerous attempts were made to study the relations between periodontal diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The potential impact from periodontal diseases can be explained with two mechanisms: periodontal pathogens translocation to the fetoplacental system, or interaction between inflammatory mediators. Conclusion. Assessment not only of an obstetrician and gynaecological pathology, but also of the presence of extragenital diseases is an essential component of the preconception planning. The study of the impact from periodontal diseases over premature delivery will facilitate the reduction in the number of preterm babies, and the understanding of the multifactorial pathogenesis of a premature delivery. Close cooperation between obstetrician-gynaecologists and dentists is an essential part of a multidisciplinary approach to pregnancy management and development of clinical recommendations