SAN DIEGO, March 7 (UPI) -- Women who have gum disease are much more likely to deliver their babies prematurely, and the baby is at greater risk for being born too small, according to a new study released Thursday.
Over a five-year period, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry at Chapel Hill and at Duke University in Durham, N.C., studied gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, in more than 850 women before and after they gave birth. The women were divided into various groups, based on how healthy their gums were and the severity of their gum disease. Factors such as age, race, food stamp eligibility, marital status, a history of other pre-term deliveries, smoking and medical history were taken into account.
Study results show the risk of a premature delivery was two-fold or higher if there was fetal exposure to periodontal disease. The researchers said there's even evidence suggesting the germs in a woman's mouth directly affect the fetus. Scientists found antibodies to specific germs in the placental blood at the time of childbirth.
Researchers say the strong link between gum disease and fetal complications indicates gum disease may be responsible for up to 18 percent of pre-term deliveries. Gum disease's effects appear to be so strong that researchers liken it to smoking and alcohol abuse.
"There's a tight association that was not expected, between progression of periodontal disease and babies being born early, and babies being born small," co-author Richard Auten, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Duke, told United Press International. "It may have to do with the inflammation."
The findings were presented Thursday at the International Association for Dental Research meeting in San Diego.
Gum disease has been linked to other health problems, including heart disease. Auten said it is unclear how gum disease might affect the fetus, if it is indeed a cause and effect association. Auten said there are ongoing studies throughout the United States examining whether intervening to treat gum disease could improve fetal outcome so the mother delivers full-term and delivers a newborn of a healthy weight.
Membranes of the bacteria that causes gum disease have been found in embryotic fluid before, Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, senior perinatologist at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, told UPI. "It's blood-borne so it's going to be in (the mother's) system," she said.
Oral hygiene is not a topic mothers-to-be are typically counseled about during their regular check-ups with obstetricians. Thornton and Auten both said poor oral hygiene is often associated with a low socio-economic background and that low-income people struggle for access to affordable, quality dental care.
According to the researchers, one in 10 babies in America are born underweight or prematurely, both major causes of sickness and mortality among children. Gum disease presents a potentially new risk factor that could be easily treated, they said.
"This is spotlighting an area that's often been ignored," Thornton said.
(Reported by Katrina Woznicki in Washington)
