Do more pregnancies increase the risk of periodontal disease?

Background: Hormonal changes in pregnancy and their induced effect on periodontal health are well documented. The present study is aimed at the potential repercussions of multiple pregnancies on periodontal health.

Materials and methods: Our study utilized data from key sections of the NHANES. All the pertaining and relevant data for the study is collected. Our exposure variable was the number of pregnancies, and the outcome variable was periodontal disease. The number of pregnancies is classified as one, two, three, four, or more. Age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, poverty/income ratio, marital status, and other variables. Multiple logistic regression models were employed to assess the impact of multiple pregnancies on periodontal disease.

Result: The crude and multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that none of the variables were significantly associated with the prevalence of periodontitis. In univariate analysis, patients with one or two pregnancies had higher odds of experiencing periodontitis (OR 1.154, 95% CI 0.748-1.779), (OR 1.464, 95% CI 0.864-2.483) respectively. However, these associations did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion: Within the limitation of the study, there is no significant relationship between parity and the prevalence of periodontitis, the longitudinal study may be warranted to delve deeper into any potential associations.