Research to Policy and Practice: Periodontal Health and Birth Outcomes

On December 11–12, 2006, the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) convened a forum in Washington, DC, to address the relationship between periodontal health and birth outcomes. The forum was planned in collaboration with representatives of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Office of the Surgeon General, and HRSA’s Office of Women’s Health.

Highlighted Sessions

• Review of Scientific Evidence Related to Periodontal Health and Birth Outcomes
  This session presented findings of a white paper developed for the forum. The paper reviews and assesses the current state of the science about the relationship between periodontal disease in pregnant women and birth outcomes.

  Presenters
  Xu Xiong, M.D., Dr.P.H.
  Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology
  School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University

  Sotirios Vastardis, D.D.S., M.S.
  Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics
  School of Dentistry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

• Published Paper
  Xiong X, Buekens P, Vastardis S, Yu SM. 2007. Periodontal disease and pregnancy outcomes: State-of-the-science. Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey 62(9):605–615.

• Overview of Periodontal Health for Women of Reproductive Age
  This session provided an overview of periodontal health issues, especially during the reproductive years, as they affect women's overall health.

Presenter
Marjorie Jeffcoat, D.M.D.
Dean, School of Dental Medicine
University of Pennsylvania

• Policies, Programs and Practices Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Pregnant Women
  This session presented the findings of a second white paper developed for the forum on policies, programs, and practices in the public and private sectors. The paper addresses the oral health needs of pregnant women. Strategies for improving birth outcomes as well as for improving women’s overall health were discussed.
  • Paper
  • Presentation

  Presenters
  Burton Edelstein, D.D.S., M.P.H.
  Professor of Dentistry and Health Policy and Management
  School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Columbia University

  Karen VanLandeghem, M.P.H.
  Health Policy and Program Consultant
  VanLandeghem, Inc.

• The Gray Zone of Evidence-Based Research—Benefit or Harm?
  This session presented the challenges of applying evidence-based methods to assess new and emerging research issues and the importance of separating out questions of science from other important considerations involving values in setting policy.

Presenter
David Atkins, M.D., M.P.H.
Chief Medical Officer, Center for Outcomes and Evidence
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• New Findings from Federally Funded Clinical Research
  This session presented an overview of NIDCR-funded research and the findings from a major NIDCR-funded clinical trial that assessed the effects of periodontal therapy on preterm birth.

Presenter
Bryan Michalowicz, D.D.S., M.S.
Principal Investigator, Effects of Periodontal Therapy on Preterm Birth
Associate Professor, Division of Periodontology
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry

• Published Paper
  Michalowicz BS, Hodges JS, DiAngelis AJ, Lupo VR, Novak MJ, Ferguson JE, Buchanan W, Bofill J, Papapanou PN, Mitchell DA, Matseoane S, Tschida PA. 2006. Treatment of periodontal disease and the risk of preterm birth. New England Journal of Medicine 355(18):1885–1894.