Women's Health: Periodontitis and its Relation to Hormonal Changes, Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Osteoporosis

Purpose: To examine the literature with respect to periodontitis and issues specific to women's health, namely, hormonal changes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and osteoporosis. Materials and Methods: The literature was evaluated to review reported associations between periodontitis and genderspecific issues, namely, hormonal changes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and osteoporosis. Results: Collectively, the literature provided a large body of evidence that supports various associations between periodontitis and hormonal changes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and osteoporosis; however, certain shortcomings were noted with respect to biases involving definitions, sample sizes and confounding variables. Specific cause and effect relationships could not be delineated at this time and neither could definitive treatment interventions. Conclusion: Future research must include randomised controlled trials with consistent definitions, adequate controls and sufficiently large sample sizes in order to clarify specific associations, identify cause and effect relationships, define treatment options and determine treatment interventions which will lessen the untoward effects on the at-risk populations. Schlagwörter: adverse pregnancy outcomes, osteoporosis, periodontitis