title: Periodontal disease treatment and risk of preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: The events leading to preterm birth are still not completely understood. A quantitative systematic review was performed to estimate the effects of periodontal care during pregnancy on preventing preterm birth and low birth weight. The meta-analysis included randomized trials with pregnant women with a diagnosis of periodontal disease before 20 weeks of gestation. Relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) was calculated. We evaluated the reduction in preterm and low birth weight. Thirteen trials were included, comparing 3,576 women in intervention groups with 3,412 women receiving usual care. The meta-analysis of the effects of periodontal disease treatment during pregnancy indicated a non-significant reduction in preterm births (RR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.68-1.19) and low birth weights (RR = 0.92; 95%CI: 0.71-1.20). The creation and examination of a funnel plot revealed clear evidence of publication bias. In summary, primary periodontal care during pregnancy cannot be considered an efficient way of reducing the incidence of preterm birth.
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Inês da
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Patrícia Duarte Simões
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Lidia Rosi
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Maria Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Edelweiss
authors.forename: Jeovany
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez-Mesa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic