By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter
Pregnant women with infections around their teeth are far more likely to give birth to premature, underweight babies.
Women with moderate to severe disease are more than seven times more likely than those with healthy mouths to deliver such babies, an American expert told an Auckland
conference yesterday.
Dr David Paquette, of North Carolina University, said these infants, who made up a tenth of all United States births, were born before 37 weeks' gestation and weighed under 2.5kg.
Compared with heavier, full-term babies, they were at greater risk of lung problems and cerebral palsy.
A fifth of Americans suffer moderate to severe disease around their teeth. New Zealand periodontists suspect the rate is higher here because we receive less dental care on average.
Periodontics is the branch of dentistry specialising in treating diseases of the tissues and bones around teeth caused by bacterial plaque.
Around 250 periodontists, dentists and dental hygienists are attending the conference of the International Academy of Periodontology and the New Zealand Society of Periodontology.
The society's president, Dr Christopher Waalkens of Auckland, said last night: "All women should get a dental checkup after they become pregnant, if they are not receiving regular dental care."
The risk of cardiovascular disease is up to three times higher with severe periodontal disease than without.
Dr Paquette, a periodontist, said the causal links had not been established, but other infections, including chlamydia, were also implicated in cardiovascular disease.
He said periodontal disease was thought to result in bacterial proteins entering the bloodstream from mouth infections and prematurely stimulating production of the chemical messengers that started labour.
"There is preliminary evidence that periodontal treatment can reduce the incidence of pre-term labour and low birthweight ... "
Dr Paquette said there was no such evidence in relation to cardiovascular disease.
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