What do systematic reviews say?

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with… changes gestational age (preterm birth < 37 weeks) compared with alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with… (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  SRP + antimicrobial vs alternative mechanical treatment + placebo
  RR 1.40 [0.67, 2.92]
  1 study · 243 participants
  Very low
• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  SRP vs alternative mechanical treatment
  RR 0.87 [0.46, 1.67]
  4 studies · 1168 participants
  Very low
• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  SRP + antimicrobial vs SRP + placebo
  RR 3.08 [1.15, 8.20]
  1 study · 243 participants
  Very low

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Pre-eclampsia: Not reported for this comparison.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Six studies (2573 participants) reported mean gestational age in weeks; data not pooled due to skewness; mean difference ranged between -0.1 and 1.4 weeks. Two studies reported gestational age as time-to-event data…
  6 studies · 2573 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  0% in both groups; Not estimated; 2389 participants (4 RCTs)
  4 studies · 2389 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or… changes preterm birth < 32 weeks compared with no treatment (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 1.35 [0.78, 2.32]
  3 studies · 2755 participants
  Very low

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or… changes low birth weight < 1500 g compared with no treatment (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 0.80 [0.38, 1.70]
  2 studies · 2550 participants
  Very low

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with… changes perinatal mortality (including fetal and neonatal deaths up to the… compared with alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with… (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 1.06 [0.60, 1.85]
  2 studies · 855 participants
  Very low

Chlorhexidine mouthrinse (any concentration; 0.05% to 0.2%) used in conjunction with mechanical oral hygiene procedures vs Placebo/control mouthrinse, or no mouthrinse (mechanical oral hygiene alone); controls pooled (protocol's separate comparisons versus mechanical oral hygiene alone and versus placebo/control merged)

Chlorhexidine mouthrinse (any concentration; 0.05% to 0.2%) used in… led to lower gingival bleeding (various bleeding indices) compared with placebo/control mouthrinse, or no mouthrinse (mechanical oral…; GRADE not reported.

• Chlorhexidine mouthrinse as an adjunctive treatment for gingival health 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 to 6 weeks
  SMD -0.56 [-0.79, -0.33]
  8 studies · 649 participants
  GRADE not reported
• Chlorhexidine mouthrinse as an adjunctive treatment for gingival health 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 months
  SMD -0.72 [-1.02, -0.42]
  8 studies · 1132 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with… changes low birth weight < 1500 g compared with alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with… (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 1.85 [0.69, 4.96]
  1 study · 756 participants
  Very low

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with… led to lower bleeding on probing compared with alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with…; GRADE not reported.

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  MD -28.00 [-38.54, -17.46]
  1 study · 53 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or… changes severe pre-eclampsia (progression from mild pre-eclampsia) compared with no treatment (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 1.21 [0.77, 1.92]
  1 study · 60 participants
  Very low

Chlorhexidine mouthrinse (any concentration; 0.05% to 0.2%) used in conjunction with mechanical oral hygiene procedures vs Placebo/control mouthrinse, or no mouthrinse (mechanical oral hygiene alone); controls pooled (protocol's separate comparisons versus mechanical oral hygiene alone and versus placebo/control merged)

Chlorhexidine mouthrinse (any concentration; 0.05% to 0.2%) used in… leads to lower dental plaque (various plaque indices) compared with placebo/control mouthrinse, or no mouthrinse (mechanical oral… (high certainty).

• Chlorhexidine mouthrinse as an adjunctive treatment for gingival health 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 months
  SMD -1.43 [-1.76, -1.10]
  11 studies · 2075 participants
  High
• Chlorhexidine mouthrinse as an adjunctive treatment for gingival health 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 to 6 weeks
  SMD -1.45 [-1.90, -1.00]
  12 studies · 950 participants
  High

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Maternal mortality: Not reported for this comparison.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Eight studies (5120 participants) reported birth weight in grams; data not pooled due to skewness; mean difference ranged between -52.8 and 476.6 grams.
  8 studies · 5120 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Reported as a secondary periodontal outcome (Analysis 1.9); results not meta-analysed due to considerable heterogeneity (I2 91% to 100%); reduction in favour of periodontal treatment.
  6 studies
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with… showed no clear difference in gingival index compared with alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with…; GRADE not reported.

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  MD -28.00 [-144.13, 88.13]
  1 study · 53 participants
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Adverse effects of therapy: Not reported for this comparison.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, alone or with antimicrobials) vs Alternative (less intensive) periodontal treatment, alone or with placebo

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Preterm births < 35 weeks reported in four studies across three subcomparisons; none of the subcomparisons showed a difference; SRP versus alternative mechanical treatment not pooled due to considerable heterogeneity;…
  4 studies
  Very low

Chlorhexidine mouthrinse (any concentration; 0.05% to 0.2%) used in conjunction with mechanical oral hygiene procedures vs Placebo/control mouthrinse, or no mouthrinse (mechanical oral hygiene alone); controls pooled (protocol's separate comparisons versus mechanical oral hygiene alone and versus placebo/control merged)

• Chlorhexidine mouthrinse as an adjunctive treatment for gingival health 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  SoF narrative row (Other adverse effects): 22 trials reported at least 1 adverse effect apart from extrinsic tooth staining and calculus formation in the chlorhexidine rinse arms. The adverse effects most commonly…
  22 studies
  GRADE not reported

Periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or surgery), alone or with oral hygiene counselling, antiseptics, or antimicrobials vs no treatment

It is very uncertain whether periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, polishing, or… changes perinatal mortality (including fetal and neonatal deaths up to the… compared with no treatment (very low certainty).

• Treating periodontal disease for preventing adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  RR 0.85 [0.51, 1.43]
  7 studies · 5320 participants
  Very low