Periodontal disease and bacterial vaginosis increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcome.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether periodontal disease or bacterial vaginosis (BV) diagnosed before pregnancy increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcome. METHODS We enrolled a total of 252 women who had discontinued contraception in order to become pregnant. The first 130 pregnant women were included in the analyses. RESULTS Multivariate analysis showed a strong association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcome (OR 5.5, 95% confidence interval 1.4-21.2; p = 0.014), and a borderline association between BV and adverse pregnancy outcome (OR 3.2, 95% confidence interval 0.9-10.7; p = 0.061). CONCLUSION Our study suggests that pre-pregnancy counseling should include both oral and vaginal examinations to rule out periodontal disease and BV. This may ultimately have an impact on antenatal healthcare, and decrease the risk for adverse pregnancy outcome.