260 likes | 462 Vues
Preterm Births and Periodontitis Does Periodontal Therapy Work?. Marjorie Jeffcoat DMD Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Periodontitis and Pregnancy. Why is preterm delivery important. Major cause of neonatal death
E N D
Preterm Births and PeriodontitisDoes Periodontal Therapy Work? Marjorie Jeffcoat DMD DeanUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Why is preterm delivery important • Major cause of neonatal death • Causes nearly half of long-term neurologic morbidity
What defines a preterm low birth weight baby • A baby born during or before the 36th week of gestation (one week before full term) and weighing less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8ounces)
How does low birth weight affect a baby • Low birth weight babies may face serious health problems such as: • Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) • Anemia • Jaundice • Mental retardation • Cerebral palsy • Impaired lung function, sight and hearing • Intracranial hemorrhage • Malnutrition • Congestive heart failure
What causes low birth weight • Some of the known causes include: • Prior preterm births • Cigarette smoking • Alcohol • Multi fetal pregnancies • Mother’s medical problems • An abnormal placenta, uterus or cervix
Prospective Studies: Periodontitis and PTB • Jeffcoat et al >3000 patients examined • 22 weeks • Periodontal exams • O.B. exams • Determine preterm or not preterm after delivery
Other studies • Literature since 1996 • Must be case control or longitudinal • Must have appropriate outcomes • Periodontal exams prepartum • Range of periodontal disease and PTB • Appropriate statistics
Other studies - results • 11 studies • 10 studies show an association • These studies involve 5686 subjects • 101 subjects in the negative study
NO Do case-control and prospective studies provide convincing evidence that treatment of periodontitis will reduce the risk of preterm birth
Intervention Studies • Can demonstrate that treating periodontitis reduces the risk of preterm birth
Why the differences? • Very different prevalence of more severe periodontal disease • Very different proportions of African American women in different studies • These issues are important because effect is greatest at smaller GA which happen with a lower prevalence • Sample size
Costs of prematurity • Hospital Costs • 15 times the cost of a full term baby • Full Costs include • Hospital Costs • Physicians • Drugs • Loss of productivity
Calculating the effect of Periodontal RX on Cost • Take into account • GA • Scaling and root planing • Costs for six months for loss of productivity • Hospitalization for baby and mother • Physican and other charges • Drugs
The results • In these studies nearly $15 million dollars were saved