Is periodontal disease related to preeclampsia?

BACKGROUND: Several studies have hypothesized that periodontal diseases may increase the risk of preeclampsia. The purpose of this study was to compare periodontal parameters in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women 48 hours after delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control study was carried out on 26 pure preeclamptic women and 25 women with normal pregnancy. The participants did not have any systemic disease that may affect both preeclampsia and periodontal conditions. Clinical parameters measured in case and control groups include attachment loss, gingival bleeding index, and plaque index. These indices were measured in all teeth except the third molars. The data from each subject were reported in mean and finally the average amount of each group was compared to others and analyzed using SPSS software, t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Mean of gestational age at delivery in preeclamptic and normotensive groups was respectively 33.2 ± 3.89 weeks and 36.5 ± 3.08 weeks. A significant difference was observed in preeclamptic women compared to controls (P = 0.01). There were no statistical differences between groups with regard to mean clinical attachment loss (P = 0.16), mean gingival bleeding (P = 0.89), and mean plaque (P = 0.95) indices. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that maternal periodontal diseases during pregnancy are not associated with preeclampsia.