The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) said a new study showing periodontal treatment during pregnancy is safe is an "important message for the dental and medical communities and all patients."
In a media release, the AAP emphasized "the need for additional research to clarify the potential effect of periodontal disease on adverse pregnancy outcomes" because the rate of preterm births continues to rise.
The AAP press release comes on the heels of the New England Journal of Medicine’s Nov. 2 article, "Treatment of Periodontal Disease and the Risk of Preterm Birth," which documents the Obstetrics and Periodontal Therapy Trial that studied the effects of nonsurgical periodontal treatment on preterm birth in more than 800 pregnant women. While the study showed that treatment is safe, it did not show a link between periodontitis and pregnancy.
The AAP called the study results "intriguing" and said, "The outcome is at variance with findings of other studies, which have suggested that periodontal treatment positively affects birth outcomes.
"There may be several explanations for the differences in research findings to date including timing of the treatment intervention, as well as the pregnancy outcomes studied," the AAP continued. "For example, the research did not study the effect of periodontal treatment on early adverse outcomes, such as late miscarriage, stillbirth, and early spontaneous preterm birth, which previous observational studies have linked with periodontal disease.
"Other trials are under way that should provide additional insight on this important topic," the AAP release concluded.
For more information about the AAP, visit "www.perio.org".
