A Research Study On Periodontitis Is Recognised As...

Periodontitis is recognised as chronic, low-grade, inflammatory and pathogenic infection, which continuously changes at a systemic level (Reddy, Phulambriker, Wanjari, Srivastava, 2012). Persistent inflammatory infection as a result of Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria lead to the destruction of bone and other tooth-supporting structures; an outcome of periodontitis is periodontal pockets (Usin et al., 2014). This fact enables bacteria and their by-products to spread to areas indirectly through the body’s immune-inflammatory response (Usin et al., 2014), thus creating potential damages to other systems and organs. It has been investigated that oral infections, such as periodontitis may increase the risk of low birth weight (LBW) (Abati et al., 2013). Offenbacher et al., (1996) pioneering study suggested a significant correlation between periodontitis and premature and/or low birth weight infants, and further studies have identified the potential connection. However, the topic has remained controversial since publication, with additional studies failing to find any positive associations (Abati et al., 2013). Depending on the geographical location periodontal disease has been observed in 10-60% of the population and been associated with osteoporosis, foetal restriction, diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, preeclampsia, preterm low birth weight and low birth weight (Usin et al., 2014). By definition the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined LBW as below