In light of new research, pregnant women may want to consider a periodontal evaluation as part of their prenatal care. A study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Periodontology shows that periodontal treatment significantly reduced the risk of having a pre-term birth or a low birthweight infant. 'We found a significant association between gingivitis and preterm birth after adjusting for the major risk factors for pre-term delivery, suggesting that gingivitis, the earliest form of periodontal disease, is an independent risk factor for pre-term birth and low birthweight,' said Dr Néstor J. López, Professor of the University of Chile. 'Periodontal therapy reduced pre-term birth and low birth-weight infant rates by 68% in women with pregnancy-associated gingivitis.' This is in concordance with two other intervention studies in which periodontal treatment reduced the incidence of pre-term births and low birth weight infants between 71% and 84% in pregnant women with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. 'Ideally, women should begin their pregnancy without periodontal infections, and they should be educated and motivated to maintain a high level of oral hygiene prior to and throughout pregnancy,' said López. 'If periodontal infection is diagnosed at any time during pregnancy, the treatment should be administered as soon as possible in order to reduce the risk of pre-term birth and low birthweight.' In spite of this interesting finding, the mechanisms involved in the association between periodontal infections and pre-term birth remains a mystery.