Associação entre doença periodontal e parto prematuro e recém-nascidos de baixo peso: uma revisão discutida da literatura

Abstract

PEREIRA, Larissa Queiroz Lacerda. Association between periodontal disease and preterm birth and low birth weight newborns: a discussed literature review. 2024. 30 p. Monograph (Undergraduate Degree in Dentistry) – Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, 2024. During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, there is a considerable increase in estrogen levels in saliva. Both deficiencies and excesses of this hormone can have detrimental effects on gingival health. Additionally, elevated levels of female sex hormones during pregnancy increase vascular permeability. This phenomenon, combined with inflammation and gingival bleeding resulting from periodontal infection, may facilitate the entry of periodontal pathogens into the bloodstream. Such a condition is frequently associated with pregnancy complications, often related to elevated levels of inflammatory mediators and infections in the fetoplacental unit. This work aims to review the scientific literature on how female steroids affect periodontal health and to examine how these hormonal changes may elevate the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. To achieve this, a search was conducted for scientific articles published between 2010 and 2023, with the exception of a 2006 study. The research was performed in the electronic database PubMed, using keywords selected from health sciences descriptors. After a detailed reading and interpretation of the scientific literature, it can be concluded that the association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes reveals a field of study still under development with many unresolved questions. Although the relationship between oral pathogens and pregnancy complications has been the subject of numerous studies, the underlying biology of this potential connection remains a mystery.