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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Practicing good oral hygiene may leave pregnant women with more than a pretty smile. A new study has uncovered a link between periodontal (gum) disease and gestational diabetes.
A team of researchers at New York University followed a group of 256 women through the first six months of their pregnancy. Over the course of those six months, 22 women developed gestational diabetes -- all of which had significantly higher levels of periodontal bacteria and inflammation than other women in the study.
"In addition to its potential role in preterm delivery, evidence that gum disease may also contribute to gestational diabetes suggests that women should see a dentist if they plan to get pregnant, and after becoming pregnant," Ananda Dasanayake, Ph.D., the study's lead author and professor of epidemiology and health promotion at NYU College of Dentistry, was quoted as saying.
Researchers believe the inflammation interferes with normal insulin functioning triggering gestational diabetes onset. Gestational diabetes typically subsides once the pregnancy ends, however it does leave women at risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are at the highest risk for developing gestational diabetes.
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SOURCE: Journal of Dental Research, published online March 24, 2008
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