We have made our patients aware of this link
for some time now. This study confirms the notion that healthy
gums are essential for the mother and her child to be.
Subject: Animal study substantiates oral
bacterial link to preterm birth
Animal study substantiates oral bacterial link
to preterm birth
www.ada.org News Today 29March2004
A bacterium associated with periodontal disease
that can enter the bloodstream as a result of oral infection was
shown to specifically target the placenta and amniotic fluid in
laboratory test animals, triggering preterm births, still births
and early death for live-born subjects, according to new research.
Laboratory mice injected with Fusobacterium nucleatum taken from
the placentas and amniotic fluid of women who had experienced
preterm deliveries gave birth to stillborn pups within 72 hours
of injection, investigators from the Case Western Reserve University
School of Dental Medicine reported.
F. nucleatum is an anaerobic Gram-negative bacterium found in
plaque and associated with periodontal disease that has also been
found in the placentas and amniotic fluid of up to 30 percent
of women who have undergone premature labor.
"The number of bacteria can increase 10,000 fold when periodontal
disease is present," said lead investigator Dr. Yiping Han,
a microbiologist in the CWRU School of Dental Medicine. "This
bacterium takes the opportunity to enter the bloodstream when
bleeding occurs with gum disease."
When the immune system is compromised through periodontal disease
and pregnancy, the F. nucleatum can target the placenta and amniotic
fluid, leading to a localized infection in the uterus that can
trigger premature labor, Dr. Han said.