Trying for a baby? Brush your teeth

GUMMY MUMMY

Gum Disease May Delay Conception

Washington: Want to be a mother? Then be sure that your oral hygiene is well maintained, as for the first time scientists have found that women with gum disease take an average of two months longer to conceive. Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a chronic infectious illness that occurs when the bacteria in one's mouth creates inflammation around a tooth and can spread into the circulatory system. Previous studies have linked gum disease with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, respiratory and kidney disease, and problems in pregnancy such as miscarriage and premature birth. This is the first time, researcher from the University of Western Australia have found that gum disease affects the time it takes women to become pregnant, LiveScience reported. For their study, the researchers monitored a group of 3,416 pregnant women and analysed their pregnancy planning and outcome information. The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, showed that women with gum disease took an average of just over seven months to become pregnant, which was two months longer than the average of five months it took women without gum disease to conceive. The researchers also found that non-Caucasian women with gum disease were more likely to take more than a year to become pregnant compared to those without gum disease. This may be because the non-Caucasian women appeared to have a higher level of inflammatory response to gum disease, said Roger Hart, who led the study. "Our data suggest that the presence of periodontal disease is a modifiable risk factor, which can increase a woman's time to conception, particularly for non-Caucasians. "It exerts a negative influence on fertility that is of the same order of magnitude as obesity." The researchers recommend that women who are planning to becoming pregnant should consult with their dentist to make sure that they do not have any gum disease. PTI