Determinants of Periodontal Disease in Pregnancy in an Urban Setting in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Periodontal disease is one of the most common infectious diseases in pregnancy. The disease is caused by bacteria that produce inflammation of gingiva through production of inflammatory mediators that may have direct insult on amnion. Untreated and chronic dental infections have a possibility of causing harm to both the mother and the baby. This was an analytical cross-sectional study the purpose of which was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for periodontal disease in pregnancy. The study was conducted on a random sample of 350 postnatal mothers at Harare city Primary Care clinics. Study approval was granted by the Joint Research Ethics Committee of the University of Zimbabwe, College of Health Sciences and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (JREC), the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe (MRCZ) and Harare City Directorate. All participants gave informed consent. Code numbers were used to identify participants and interviews and oral assessments were conducted in private rooms. Data was collected through face to face interviews following a structured questionnaire, clinical intraoral examination and from clinical records. Data was captured using research electronic data capturing (RedCap) and was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Mean maternal age was 25.9 years, SD 5.7. prevalence of periodontal disease was 48.7%. No significant factors were associated with periodontal disease in the current study. However, other studies have reported significant risk factors for periodontal disease such as gestation age of the pregnancy and place of residence periodontal disease was significantly associated with the following birth outcomes. Periodontal health is the relatively neglected area in perinatal care. Health care professionals should be trained in screening for periodontal disease and giving health education in order to reduce adverse perinatal outcomes.