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  • Title: Third molars and the efficacy of mechanical debridement in reducing pathogen levels in pregnant subjects: a pilot study.
    Author: Moss KL, Serlo AD, Offenbacher S, Beck JD, White RP.
    Journal: J Oral Maxillofac Surg; 2008 Aug; 66(8):1565-9. PubMed ID: 18634941.
    Abstract:
    PURPOSE: To assess the impact of mechanical debridement (scaling and root planing), without adjunctive therapy, on reducing the numbers of periodontal pathogens detected in pregnant subjects with and without visible third molars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-seven subjects in the second trimester of pregnancy were enrolled in an institutional review board-approved study. Full mouth periodontal exams of all teeth were conducted at baseline and postpartum. Presence or absence of third molars was noted. Subgingival biofilm samples were obtained from the mesiobuccal of all first molars at enrollment and postpartum. Subjects' total counts for periodontal pathogens in biofilm samples were determined by DNA-DNA checkerboard hybridization. We analyzed data from a subsample of 26 subjects. All subjects in the study were treated at enrollment by mechanical debridement of all teeth, including third molars. Differences between subjects' baseline and postpartum demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed by chi(2) and t tests by presence or absence of third molars. Statistical significance for differences in pathogen levels was determined by Rank analysis of covariance. Significance was set at 0.05 without correction for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Most of the 26 subjects were African American (61%), on Medicaid (92%), and did not smoke during pregnancy (88%). The 15 subjects with visible third molars were significantly older (28.0 years [SD 6.4] vs 23.7 years [SD 3.9]). In the 11 subjects with no third molars noted, all pathogen counts were reduced postpartum. In the 15 subjects with visible third molars, total counts for each pathogen analyzed were higher postpartum as compared with subjects with no visible third molars, and their bacterial counts were increased for 5 of the 8 pathogens, including all "red cluster" pathogens. Differences between study groups were observed by the presence or absence of third molars for T. forsythia and P. nigrescens (P = .04), and for P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, total "orange cluster" bacteria, and total pathogens (P < .06). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of mechanical debridement to lower periodontal pathogen counts during pregnancy was limited by the presence of visible third molars and should be analyzed further in larger scale trials.
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