Assessment of Risk Factors of Periodontitis during Pregnancy and its Effect on Pregnancy Outcome

Abstract

ingivitis is the inflammatory condition of the soft tissues surrounding the teeth and the first stage of the periodontal diseases, without early treatment it progress to cause periodontitis which include the destruction of the supporting structures of the teeth, including the periodontal ligament, bone, cementum and soft tissues (Naser et al., 2012). As regard to pregnancy, it involves complex physical and hormonal changes that have a significant impact on almost every organ system, including the oral cavity. Mainly, there is an increase in the hormones of estrogen and progesterone. These hormones have been found to affect periodontal disease progress and wound healing. In addition that both these hormones lead to increased gingival vascularization and decreased immune response (Alchalabi et al., 2013). Furthermore, the American academy of periodontology (AAP) reported that about 50% of women experience pregnancy related periodontal disease with prevalence of periodontitis 14% between the 2nd and 8th month of pregnancy as result of increased hormonal level (Eke, 2016). Clinically periodontitis was defined as the presence of four or more teeth with one or more sites of PD>4mm and G