title: High salivary estrogen and risk of developing pregnancy gingivitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Estrogen regulates the cellular functions of several tissues that may disturb the host response against bacteria. The present aim is to evaluate the contribution of estrogen to the severity of gingival inflammation during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Salivary estrogen levels from 30 pregnant and 24 non-pregnant females were related to their periodontal health parameters, including visible plaque index (VPI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) from six sites per tooth. The pregnant group was examined three times during pregnancy and twice during postpartum, and the non-pregnant group was examined three times, once per subsequent month.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Salivary estrogen levels increased significantly during the second (P <0.01) and third (P <0.05) trimesters. In both participant groups, BOP scores correlated significantly with VPI scores (r = 0.498 to 0.870) but not with estrogen levels. In all trimesters and postpartum, the individuals with both high estrogen and high VPI levels had the highest frequency of pregnancy gingivitis. During the second and third trimesters, simultaneously enhanced estrogen levels and VPI scores brought an additional risk of developing gingivitis compared with a high VPI score alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings suggest that, during pregnancy, the estrogen level determines the magnitude of gingival inflammation developed against microbial plaque at the gingival margin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. mervi.gursoy@utu.fi
authors.forename: Mervi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gürsoy
authors.forename: Ulvi Kahraman
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Gürsoy
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sorsa
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pajukanta
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Könönen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D010512:Periodontal Index; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000378:metabolism; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens