The Prevalence and Severity of Periodontal Diseases and Its Impact on Preterm Birth Among Pregnant Women Attending the Antenatal Clinics in Ile Ife.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and severity of 
periodontal diseases among pregnant women and its 
impact on the prevalence of preterm births in Ile-Ife, 
Nigeria.
Methods: This was a cross sectional study of two hundred 
and fifty-eight (258) pregnant women recruited from the 
antenatal clinic of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching 
Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC) between 15th to 28th weeks 
gestational age. The women were followed up until after 
delivery. Interviewer-administered questionnaires and 
secondary data sources (Case notes) were used for data 
collection. Previous pregnancy history, medical conditions, 
and present pregnancy history and status of the baby at 
birth were collected from the case notes. Oral examination 
was done on the dental chair with good lighting and the 
periodontal health of the pregnant women was rated using 
the Gingival index and Community Periodontal Index. Oral 
hygiene motivation was done for all. Non-surgical 
intervention was carried out on those with poor oral 
hygiene. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05
Results: The prevalence of gingivitis was 97.6% while it 
was 2.4% for periodontitis. The prevalence of periodontitis 
among pregnant women was lower (2.4%) in comparison 
with previous data from same environment, and so was the 
prevalence of preterm birth (6.7%). The majority of the 
women had mild gingivitis while only 3 had severe 
gingivitis based on gingival index. Furthermore only (2.4%) 
had moderate periodontitis (pocket depth 4-5mm) while 
none had severe periodontitis (pocket depth ≥6mm). The 
severity of the periodontal diseases was not influenced by 
frequency of brushing, educational attainment, parity and 
gravida (P>0.05). Binary logistic regression showed that 
the severity of gingivitis is not a predictor of preterm birth 
in this population.
Conclusion: The prevalence of gingivitis was high although 
the majority of the pregnant women exhibited mild 
gingival inflammation with no deep periodontal pocket. 
The prevalence of preterm birth in Ile-Ife was low 
compared to other South Western Nigerian populations 
and its previous reports from Ile-Ife.