Periodontal status in Taiwanese pregnant women

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Few studies have investigated the periodontal status of Taiwanese pregnant women. This study aimed to investigate the periodontal status of pregnant women and to examine its relation to oral hygiene. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study randomly recruited 477 pregnant women. Among them, 203 women were in their first trimester. Forty-six women completed the study to the end of their third trimester. We also recruited 160 nonpregnant women as the control group. Clinical periodontal parameters were recorded and included probing pocket depth [PPD (mm)], clinical attachment level [CAL (mm)], gingival index simplified [GI-s (%)], and plaque index [PI (%)]. RESULTS: The GI-s of the pregnant group (PG) was higher than that of the control group [CG; (i.e., nonpregnant)], but only the third trimester was statistically significantly different (P < 0.001).The full mouth dental PI was higher in the PG than in the CG (P < 0.001), particularly in the interproximal areas. The mean PPD was greater in the PG than in the CG (P < 0.001) in all tooth areas. The mean CAL was higher in the PG than in the CG (P < 0.001), but no difference existed between the different trimesters. The CG had a higher percentage of sites with a shallow PPD, compared to the PG (P < 0.001); the PG had a higher percentage of sites with a PPD of 4–6 mm, compared to the CG (P < 0.001). Only the PI of the full mouth and lingual tooth surfaces in the third trimester were better than in the first trimester throughout the pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Gingival inflammation in pregnant women is positively correlated with the increased deposition of a dental plaque biofilm.