Self-reported and clinical periodontal conditions in a group of Eastern European postpartum women

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent condition leading to a continuous destruction of tooth-supporting tissues. It increases the risk for various systemic diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, screening for periodontitis is important. Screening measures can range from self-reported symptoms to clinical full-mouth periodontal examination. The hypothesis of our study was that self-reported parameters and clinical definition perform equally well in identifying periodontitis patients. The aim of this study was to develop, validate its internal consistency, and evaluate a self-reported instrument against periodontal clinical evaluation for diagnosis of periodontitis in a group of postpartum women, as well as to describe their periodontal status and the risk factors associated with periodontal disease. A cross-sectional study on postpartum women was conducted in a tertiary university hospital, from April 2018 to March 2019. Sociodemographic and behavioral data, periodontal clinical parameters, and self-reported periodontal perception were collected. A 16-item questionnaire was developed to obtain information about perceived periodontal alterations and oral hygiene habits. The utility of the questionnaire was tested against a periodontal diagnosis based on a full-mouth periodontal examination. The questionnaire was applied in 215 postpartum women aged 29.16±5.54 years (mean age (y) ± standard deviation) having the following periodontal status: 16 individuals without periodontal disease (7.44%), 32 individuals with gingivitis (14.88%), 19 individuals with mild periodontitis (8.84%), 132 individuals with moderate periodontitis (61.39%), and 16 individuals with severe periodontitis (7.44%). A significant association was observed between oral hygiene score, smoking status, and periodontal conditions (p<0.05). A significant association between the self-reported items related to “gum swelling”, “halitosis”, “previous periodontal diagnosis” and “previous periodontal treatment” with clinical periodontitis have been identified (p<0.05). Using self-reported questionnaires for detection of periodontal disease was ineffective in our studied population, since self-reported parameters and clinical definition do not appear to perform equally in identifying periodontitis cases. Clinical periodontal examination remains the gold standard for screening. Periodontitis was frequent in our group and the severity was significantly associated with the oral hygiene score and smoking. These results underline the necessity for periodontal clinical examination during pregnancy.