The Presence of Visible Third Molars Negatively Influences Periodontal Outcomes in the Maternal Oral Therapy to Reduce Obstetric Risks Study

This study was conducted to assess the relationship between the presence or absence of visible 3^rdmolars and outcomes for periodontal inflammatory disease in an IRB approved, multi-site study of obstetric subjects, Maternal Oral Therapy to Reduce Obstetric Risks (MOTOR).

Obstetric subjects at enrollment, N=1,798, were divided into two groups, those with no visible 3^rd molars, n=692, and those with at least one visible 3^rd molar, n= 1106, predictor variables for this study. The principal outcome variables were the periodontal status of 1^st/2^nd molars: mean periodontal probing depths (PD), mean attachment levels (AL), and mean Extent scores for bleeding on probing, % sites bleeding on probing (BOP) of all 1^st/2^nd molar probing sites. Periodontal disease severity also was assessed by criteria from the Oral Conditions and Pregnancy Study (OCAP) and the Center for Disease Control and American Academy of Periodontology (CDC/AAP). Outcomes by the presence or absence of 3^rdmolars were compared with Chi square statistics. Significance was set at P<0.05.

Significantly more subjects had at least one 3^rd molar, 62%, as compared to subjects with no visible 3^rd molar, 38%, P<0.01. More subjects were Caucasian, 61%, with most identifying as ethnic Latino. African American subjects were well represented, 37%. If subjects had at least one visible 3^rd molar, mean 1^st/2^nd molar PD, AL and Extent BOP were significantly greater even after adjusting for co-variates. Based on either OCAP or CDC/AAP criteria, subjects were significantly more likely to have Moderate or Severe periodontal disease if a 3^rdmolar was detected.

If at least one visible 3^rd molar was detected in subjects in MOTOR as compared to no detected 3^rd molars, periodontal outcomes were significantly worse.