Effect of general health and sociocultural variables on periodontal status of pregnant women.

Background: The influence of sociocultural variables, pre-existing conditions of general, oral and dental health and hormonal changes on periodontal status during pregnancy has been reported in some clinical studies and there has been speculation about the effects of these parameters on periodontal health during pregnancy.

Materials And Methods: This study evaluates the periodontal condition (plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level) of 140 pregnant women and its relationship to demographic (age, professional level and education) and clinical variables (previous pregnancy, gestation period, previous periodontal maintenance, previous live births and health status). All periodontal data were recorded by the same examiner.