New research from the University of Sydney has found that treating gingivitis (gum inflammation that causes bleeding gums) during pregnancy is associated with reduced risk of preterm birth and low birth weight in babies.
Published recently in the Journal of Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry, this first-of-its-kind systematic review and meta-analysis investigated whether the treatment of gingivitis in pregnant women affects pregnancy outcomes.
20 million infants worldwide (15.5 percent of all deliveries) are born with low birth weight (less than 2.5kg) and almost 11 percent of all live births are born premature (before 37 weeks pregnant).
