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Abstract

Background: Gingivitis is an inflammation limited to marginal gingival tissues, which can be referred to as the mildest form of periodontal diseases, initial signs of inflammation which include: redness, bleeding, swelling, exudation, and to a lesser extent pain, which indicate the presence of gingivitis. Current research was proposed to detect the correlation between pregnancy status and oxidative stress (OS) levels among gingivitis pregnant women and to elucidate the role of pregnancy status in the pathogenicity of gingivitis. Methods: The current study was conducted in the Dental Center at Thi-Qar province (Iraq), and it included three study groups: 35 pregnant women with gingivitis, 35 non-pregnant women with gingivitis, and 30 non-pregnant women without gingivitis (the healthy control), with an age balance between the three study groups. Serological and salivary levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total anti-oxidant capacity (TAC), protein carbonyl (Pc), protein, nitric oxide (NO), and ceruloplasmin (Crp) were biochemically determined. Results:The results of the tests showed that the concentrations of MDA, Pc, the total proteins (TP), NO, and Crp were significantly higher among pregnant and non-pregnant women with gingivitis compared with healthy controls in both serum and saliva, whereas the inverse findings were reported for TCA biomarker. The same results profiles were reported in comparison between pregnant women with gingivitis and non-pregnant women with gingivitis for serum biomarkers. For saliva biomarkers, the results revealed significant elevated levels of MDA, Pc, and NO among pregnant gingivitis women in comparison with non-pregnant gingivitis, whereas the other biomarkers revealed non-significant differences. Conclusions: The pregnancy status had an effect on the OS level which lead to a higher level of OS in both serum and saliva and the correlation between the pregnancy status and serum and/or saliva OS levels was positive which indicated the possible utility of its present lead to gingivitis development.