Comparison of periodontal status among pregnant and non-pregnant women

Abstract

Since the 1960s, there has been a rise in the prevalence and severity of inflammation of gingiva during pregnancy. Though the reason of incidence isn’t entirely fathomed, it is believed that the increase in the sex hormone levels in the plasma during pregnancy have a substantial effect on the periodontium. The aim of this study was to assess the periodontal health of women who were pregnant. This retrospective study was conducted among pregnant women who visited a private dental college in Chennai from June 2019 to March 2020. A total of 242 pregnant women were randomly enrolled. Data regarding the patient’s periodontal status were cumulated from the case records and analysed. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were done using SPSS software, Version 23. Among the 249 patients 162 patients (66.94%) exhibited generalised chronic gingivitis, 56 patients (23.14%) exhibited clinically healthy gingiva and 24 patients (9.92%) exhibited generalised chronic periodontitis. Clinically healthy gingiva was highly prevalent among 30 year old pregnant women. Gingivitis was highly prevalent among 28 year old patients and periodontitis was most prevalent among 20 and 24 year old patients. Also, the association between age and periodontal status among pregnant women was found to be statistically significant (p value=0.006).