Prognostic factors associated with periodontal treatment response in pregnant women

Abstract

The goal of the present study is to determine if certain baseline clinical, serological parameters and patient characteristics can predict initial response to non-surgical periodontal therapy in pregnant women with chronic periodontitis. We studied associations between periodontal treatment response and certain baseline demographic, clinical and serological characteristics and measures. The response to periodontal treatment was defined as full-mouth mean change from baseline to 29-32 weeks gestation using three periodontal measures: Clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD) and percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (BOP). Baseline endotoxin and CRP levels were significantly associated with gain in CAL. The findings of the present study suggest that baseline patient characteristics such as race; serum measures such as CRP, endotoxins and antibodies to T. denticola; and periodontal measures such as PD, play a significant role in predicting the gain in CAL after periodontal treatment in pregnant women with chronic periodontitis.