ABSTRACT

Objective: to investigate the relationship between poor pregnant oral health and newborn health conditions through maternal periodontal disease and 5th minute Apgar Index and birth weight association.

Design: cross-sectional study.

Sampling: after a pilot study was conducted, 115 inpatients aged 18 to 42 years were selected by convenience among Maternidade Mário Totta’s clients and studied from April to October 2003. All of them signed an informed consent.

Predictor variable – periodontal disease: based upon criteria of the American Association of Periodontology (probing depth and bleeding at probing).

Dependent variables – Apgar Index and birth weight: according to medical records.

Results: No association was found between maternal periodontal disease, 5th minute Apgar Index and birth weight of the newborn (a=0,05).

Discussion: methodological differences, including design, operational definition of periodontal disease and, consequently, of the severity of the cases, as much as confounding control procedures, help to explain the results’ variability observed in the already published studies. In this present study, a comprehensive definition of periodontal disease, including mild cases, was adopted. The strategy may have brought difficulties to the identification of the researched association.

Key Words: Periodontitis, Oral Health, Pregnancy, Puerperium, Apgar Index, Weight at Birth.