Significant increase of oral bacteria in the early pregnancy period in Japanese women.
OBJECTIVE
Oral microflora during pregnancy is critical to oral health care in the mother and her child. We examined the changes in the oral microbiota between pregnancy and nonpregnancy periods.


METHODS
The study was performed using 132 healthy pregnant women enrolled from Hiroshima City Asa Citizens Hospital and 51 healthy nonpregnant women as control. During pregnancy, 132 subjects were assessed for seven microbial species by the cultured method and polymerase chain reaction at the early (7-16 weeks gestation), the middle (17-28 weeks), and the late (29-39 weeks) pregnancy periods. Pregnant women completed a series of questionnaires regarding oral and systemic health and lifestyle habits.


RESULTS
The total cultivable microbial counts in the early pregnancy were significantly higher than that of the nonpregnant women (P < 0.05). The incidences of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in gingival sulcus during the early and middle pregnancy were significantly higher than the nonpregnant group (P < 0.05), while Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatum did not change. Candida species were more frequently detected during the middle and late pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that pregnancy, especially in the early periods, promotes the proliferation of microorganisms in the oral cavity and facilitates a colonization of periodontal pathogens.
Department of Bacteriology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Natsumi
N
Fujiwara
Department of Bacteriology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Keiko
K
Tsuruda
Department of Bacteriology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Yuko
Y
Iwamoto
Department of Bacteriology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Fuminori
F
Kato
Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Teruko
T
Odaki
Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Nobuko
N
Yamane
Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Yuriko
Y
Hori
Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing, Hiroshima, Japan.
Yuka
Y
Harashima
Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing, Hiroshima, Japan.
Ayako
A
Sakoda
Nagano College of Nursing, Nagano, Japan.
Akira
A
Tagaya
Department of Oral Microbiology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan.
Hitoshi
H
Komatsuzawa
Department of Bacteriology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan.
Motoyuki
M
Sugai
Department of Maternity Nursing, Japanese Red Cross Toyota College of Nursing, Toyota, Japan.
Mayumi
M
Noguchi
D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans; D058491:Bacterial Load; D002175:Candida; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D016967:Fusobacterium nucleatum; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D064307:Microbiota; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D011264:Pregnancy Trimesters; D018713:Prevotella intermedia
Candida species; development; oral microbiota; periodontal pathogens; pregnancy