Health behaviors, periodontal conditions, and periodontal pathogens in spontaneous preterm birth: a case-control study in Korea.
BACKGROUND
This study aims to determine whether periodontal conditions or dental health behaviors are risk factors for preterm birth (PTB), and whether periodontal pathogens are risk indicators for PTB among Korean mothers.


METHODS
This study was designed as a hospital-based case-control study. Examiner masking was ensured for the validity of the examinations. The mothers included those who gave birth between November 2007 and July 2009 at the obstetrics clinic of a general hospital in Seoul, Korea. Information on demographic and health conditions, periodontal conditions, and microbacterial data was collected.


RESULTS
A total of 172 women met the inclusion criteria, 59 mothers who delivered a preterm neonate were assigned to the case group while the other 113 were assigned to the control group. There were no significant differences in demographic information, oral health conditions, and obstetric characteristics. Among health-related behaviors, only scaling within 12 months before pregnancy showed a significant difference (P = 0.031). Even in the adjusted logistic model, only the difference in the experience of scaling before pregnancy was significant between the PTB cases and the controls (P = 0.039). Periodontal disease did not exhibit a significant relationship with PTB even after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Among the microbacterial factors, only Porphyromonas gingivalis showed a slight difference (P = 0.060).


CONCLUSIONS
There was a significant difference in scaling experience within 12 months before pregnancy and P. gingivalis showed a marginal difference between the PTB and the control groups but clinical periodontal conditions showed no association with PTB.
Ryu
Jae-In
JI
Oral Health Promotion Supporting Committee, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Seoul, Korea.
Oh
Kyungjoon
K
Yang
Hyejin
H
Choi
Bong-Kyu
BK
Ha
Jung-Eun
JE
Jin
Bo-Hyoung
BH
Kim
Hyun-Duck
HD
Bae
Kwang-Hak
KH
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005883:Gingival Crevicular Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D016015:Logistic Models; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult