Oral Health Care
Over the past twenty five years a growing body of research has supported
an association between poor oral health/chronic oral infection with the
increased incidence of preterm labor and low birth-weight babies. According
to the Centers for Disease Control, the second leading cause of infant
mortality is the combination of premature birth and low birth-weight. The
need to educate health care professionals in recognizing the direct
correlation between oral health and overall health is paramount.
Reports on the Blueprint to Improve Perinatal Health (2007) further explicates
the issue.
The Perinatal Partnership is working to:
- Encourage and support a broad partnership of health professionals to work together to assure that all health care providers are aware of the association between oral health and overall health, therefore recognizing the correlation between infectious oral disease and unfavorable birth outcomes.
- Encourage and support programs working with families to promote oral care before, during, and after pregnancy as a key strategy to improve maternal health, fetal development, infant health, and birth outcomes.
- Encourage the Bureau for Medical Services to review the reimbursement rates for
Medicaid-covered dental services and evaluate the positive impact of
preventable dental services for all women of childbearing age. Dental care
for all pregnant women may result in an overall cost savings by reducing the
number of PT/LBW incidences.
Evidence-Based Guidelines for Health Professionals
Rolande Tellier Loftus of the CDA announced that “Oral Health During Pregnancy and Early Childhood: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Health Professionals” is available for download at www.cdafoundation.org/guidelines.
This significant body of work represents the outcome of a 2-day consensus conference held in Sacramento on February 20 - 21, 2009 in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District IX. In 2010 a companion policy brief will be posted on the CDA Foundation web site to accompany the Guidelines.
Study Finds Periodontal Disease Treatment Reduces PTB Rate
A study reported in the March, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that periodontal disease treatment with scaling and/or root planing during pregnancy reduces preterm birth or low birthweight. If ongoing large and well-designed randomized trials support those results, there might be cause to reassess current practice or at least be cautious prior to rejecting treatment of periodontal disease with scaling and/or root planing during pregnancy. Read article.