| Summary: |
Objectives: To reveal differences in periodontal status and presence of subgingival
bacteria in a Scandinavian population of women with pre-term birth compared with
women who delivered at term.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-one women with pre-term labour (before week 35)
and 33 women with term labour (between weeks 38 and 41) were included in this case–
control study. Periodontal measurements included plaque index (PlI), probing pocket
depth (PPD) and bleeding on probing (BOP). Inter-proximal distances from the
cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) to the marginal bone crest (MBC) were measured on
bitewing radiographs. In 31 patients (16 cases and 15 controls) the subgingival plaque
was analysed using ‘‘checkerboard’’ DNA–DNA hybridization.
Results: Differences between the two examined groups were found related to ‘‘Twin
births’’ (p50.0064) and ‘‘Smokers’’ (p50.03). None of the periodontal
measurements showed any association. Significant differences were found concerning
presence of Tannerella forsythensis, Treponema denticola, Peptostreptococcus micros,
Streptococcus intermedius, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus sanguis and
Capnocytophaga ochracea but when defining sites with 4105 bacteria as heavily
colonized, no statistical difference was found between the two groups.
Conclusion: A relation between pre-term birth and periodontitis was not revealed in
the present study.
|