An Evaluation of the Association between Periodontal Disease and Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In the etiology of preeclampsia, one of the most common causes of maternal mortality is the release of inflammatory and immunological factors. On the other hand, periodontal disease also leads to persistent gingivitis. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the association between periodontal disease and preeclampsia. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted among 80 pregnant women with preeclampsia (case group) and 80 healthy pregnant women as control group. The mean of periodontal disease indices, including Plaque Index (PI), Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), and Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI) was measured and compared between the two groups. FINDINGS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of mean age, BMI, gestational age and number of pregnancies. The mean CAL in the case group was 14.14±1.0 mm and in the control group was 13.14±1.0 mm (p=0.68), the mean PI score in the case group was 1.18±1.13 and in the control group was 1.18±0.17 (p=0.87), and the mean GBI in the case group was 14.2±7.8% and in the control group was 14.3 ± 3.1% (p=0.35). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the difference between the mean of periodontal disease indices in preeclampsia group and control group was not statistically significant