Maternal periodontal disease as a risk factor for preterm birth and low-birth-weight babies: a case-control study.

Periodontal disease is considered a public health problem because of its high prevalence, while premature birth is a serious perinatal problem, persisting as one of the major causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal periodontal disease on the occurrence of preterm birth and the birth weight of their babies. The study sample included 45 new mothers, aged 18-35 years, who presented either slight or moderate to severe localized or generalized chronic periodontitis with bleeding on probing and gingival inflammation.