Early Periodontal Treatment Staves Off Preterm Labor

Healthy Gums Equal Healthy Babies

Early Periodontal Treatment Staves Off Preterm Labor

Successfully treating advanced gum disease in pregnant women can significantly reduce the risk of preterm birth according to new research published in the September edition of the British Journal of Gynaecology.

Previous research has shown that women with periodontal disease are at risk for premature labor and delivery.

In this study, dentists and doctors evaluated 322 pregnant women divided into two groups: those who received periodontal treatment and those who did not. All of the women received at-home care instructions from a dental hygienist, as well as home-care supplies, such as toothbrushes, dental floss and toothpaste, but the women in the untreated group received no hands-on treatment as part of the study.

The women in the treatment group received dental scaling and root planing from a hygienist before the end of the first trimester of their pregnancies. These women were six times more likely to carry their babies to full term (past 35 weeks’ gestation) than were the women in the other group.

Based on these findings, the authors of the study have recommended that pregnant women with periodontal disease should receive root planning and dental scaling before the end of their first trimester of pregnancy to help reduce the incidence of spontaneous preterm birth.

Dental X-Rays Good Diagnostic For Osteoporosis

Dental X-Rays Good Diagnostic For Osteoporosis

Women have one more member on their team when it comes to watching for signs of osteoporosis: their dentists.

According research completed by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), dental X-rays may be used as a way to screen for osteoporosis. Studies have shown that dental X-rays are quite effective in showing which patients have osteoporosis versus those with normal bone density.

Research has shown a link between osteoporosis and bone loss in the jaw. The jaw plays an important role in supporting the teeth and anchoring them into position. When the jaw bone becomes brittle and less dense due to the effects of osteoporosis, this can affect the strength of the teeth.

The NIAMS made its recommendation that dental x-rays be used to help monitor bone density because most people are in contact more frequently with their dentist than with their primary care physician. If a patient is identified as having low bone density via a dental x-ray, dentists can encourage him or her to discuss their bone health with their primary care physicians.

Not only is bone density of concern for the potential development of osteoporosis, it’s also an important indicator for oral health. Bone loss in the mouth can result in loose teeth, receding gums or gums that have already detached from the teeth, and ill-fitting or loose dentures.

Study Finds Men at Greater Risk for Periodontal Disease

Study Finds Men at Greater Risk for Periodontal Disease

A study recently published in the Journal of Periodontology found that men are at greater risk for developing periodontal disease due to gender-based differences in immune response.

The study’s co-author, Mark A. Reynolds, D.D.S., Ph.D., chair of the periodontics department at the University of Maryland Dental School, said that while the study concluded that males are at greater risk for periodontitis than females, the results do not support the conclusion that men are at greater risk for more rapid periodontal destruction than women.

Dr. Reynolds and his team, which included co-author, Harlan Shiau, D.D.S., D.M.Sc., conducted a systematic review of the literature (Medline, Embase, and Scopus) and a meta-analysis to estimate sex-related differences in the prevalence of periodontitis.

From 12 population surveys meeting selection criteria (representing 50,604 subjects), they found that sex exhibited a significant association with prevalence, reflecting a 9% difference between men and women (37.4% versus 28.1%, respectively), although the overall effect of sex in the meta-analysis was comparatively small (d = 0.19, 95 CI: 0.16 and 0.22).

The study’s authors concluded that the results of the review provided evidence of a higher prevalence of destructive periodontal disease in men compared to women, presumably because men may experience more harmful effects from inflammation than women and less protection from microbial pathogens, both of which would put them at higher risk for periodontal disease.

Study Finds Hormones, Number of Pregnancies Affects Women’s Risk of Caries

Study Finds Hormones, Number of Pregnancies Affects Women’s Risk of Caries

Dr. John Lukacs, Ph.D., a professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon, believes that he has found the reason that women tend to have more cavities than men, and why some women tend to have more cavities than others.

According to Lukac, male and female children seem to have a similar number of caries. The numbers start to change, however, as children become adolescents because of the dramatic increase of estrogen in females as they mature.

Women become even more prone to caries throughout their childbearing years, particularly during times of pregnancy, which are, coincidentally, times of increased estrogen production. In fact, women’s estrogen levels increase steadily during pregnancy until birth.  

According to Lukacs, females produce less saliva than men. Saliva has two important components: enzymes that break down complex sugars in the mouth, and antibodies that attack the microbes responsible for cavities. Having less saliva, then, puts women at a much greater risk for developing cavities.

In addition, it appears women’s saliva has less of an antimicrobial effect when they are pregnant.

To add insult to injury, women often crave sugary, high-energy, high-carbohydrate foods during pregnancy, so when they eat these foods, their saliva has less of a protecting effect, and their teeth are already at risk from the increased estrogen.

“The role of female-specific factors has been denied by anthropologists, yet they attain considerable importance in the model proposed here, because the adoption of agriculture is associated with increased sedentism and fertility,” Lukacs concluded in the October 2008 issue of Current Anthropology. “I argue that the rise of agriculture increased demands on women’s reproductive systems, contributing to an increase in fertility that intensified the negative impact of dietary change on women’s oral health. The combined impacts of increased fertility, dietary changes and division of labor during the move into agricultural societies contributed to the widespread gender differential observed in dental caries rates today… If hormonal and physiological factors work in an independent or additive manner, their impact on women’s oral health could be significant. The fact that women’s caries experience increases with age at a greater rate than men’s in diverse ethnic groups from different ecological and cultural settings supports this interpretation.”