Dental :: Premature birth and dental problems

Premature birth in a pregnant woman with periodontal disease may be reduced by using a non-surgical dental procedure – claims a study in the August issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

Periodontitis is a serious gum infection that destroys attachment fibers and supporting bone that hold teeth in the mouth.

The study of 366 women with periodontitis found that scaling and root planing resulted in as much as an 84 percent reduction in premature births among women who were less than 35 weeks pregnant.

Scaling and root planing is a common procedure performed by a periodontist. In this procedure, the tooth-root surfaces are cleaned to remove plaque and tartar from deep periodontal pockets and to smooth the root to remove bacterial toxins.

The study also found that adjunctive metronidazole therapy – an antibiotic used to treat infections – did not reduce the rate of premature births. The study actually found that women who received the antibiotic treatment after scaling and root planing had more premature births than those who received scaling and planing and a placebo.


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