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Review
. 2023 May 10;11(10):1372.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare11101372.

Periodontitis in Pregnant Women: A Possible Link to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Andrea Butera  1 , Carolina Maiorani  1 , Annalaura Morandini  2 , Julia Trombini  2 , Manuela Simonini  2 , Chiara Ogliari  3 , Andrea Scribante  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Periodontitis in Pregnant Women: A Possible Link to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Andrea Butera et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Periodontitis develops in 11% of pregnant women, and it is independently linked to severe complications during pregnancy such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and gestational diabetes.

Methods: A literature search (Pubmed/MEDLINE, and Scopus) from 2003 to 2023 was conducted to analyze studies focused on periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Results: 16 articles have been included. Most of the studies showed adverse outcomes, like preterm birth and the low weight of the unborn child, are among the most frequent consequences (respectively 62.5% and 68.7% of articles); pre-eclampsia is also linked to this condition (12.5% of articles); and perinatal mortality (12.5% of articles).

Conclusions: Periodontal disease appears to be associated with adverse events in pregnancy due to the transport of biofilm bacteria into the bloodstream and into placental tissue; what would cause adverse events is the body's immune response to infection.

Keywords: adverse pregnancy outcomes; oral health; periodontitis; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of included studies: from 593 articles, duplicates were eliminated, and 281 articles remained; from them, 16 articles were analyzed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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