The effect of oral contraceptives on gingivitis in female patients who attended the dental clinic of Dr. René Puig Bentz at the National Pedro Henríquez Ureña University.
Description
This observational study, conducted at the Dr. René Puig Bentz dental clinic at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University, aimed to evaluate whether oral contraceptive use is a modifying factor in gingivitis. The hypothesis is that oral contraceptives may influence clinical manifestations of gingivitis, such as redness, bleeding, and inflammation. Data were collected through a clinical periodontal evaluation. Variables such as gingival redness, bleeding on probing, the inflammation index, and the plaque index were recorded. These findings were then compared between patients who used oral contraceptives and those who did not. Additionally, the hormonal composition of the contraceptives used was documented, including the type and concentration of estrogens and progestogens, as well as the duration of use. The results revealed significant differences in gingival redness, which occurred more frequently in the group of oral contraceptive users. This finding suggests a potential impact of sex hormones on gingival tissues. However, no statistically significant differences were found in bleeding on probing, inflammation index, or plaque index between groups, indicating that these variables are more closely related to the presence of bacterial plaque and hygiene habits than to contraceptive use. Regarding hormonal composition, a variety of formulations were identified, with contraceptives containing different concentrations of ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone predominating. However, none of the gingivitis cases occurred in oral contraceptive users; the two cases identified corresponded exclusively to the non-user group. Similarly, no association was found between hormone concentration, type of progestogen, or duration of oral contraceptive use and the presence of gingivitis. Taken together, these data suggest that although oral contraceptive use is associated with increased gingival redness, there is no direct relationship with the onset of gingivitis in this study sample. This dataset provides clinical and hormonal information that can be used to analyze the influence of oral contraceptives on gingival tissue and for future comparisons in similar studies.
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Steps to reproduce
All patients were given an explanation of the study's objective and provided with an informed consent form. They read and voluntarily accepted the form, thereby authorizing their anonymous participation in the research. After obtaining consent, data was collected using a form designed for this study. This form recorded whether or not the patient used oral contraceptives. For users, the name of the contraceptive, dose, hormone concentration, duration of use, frequency of use, and presence of possible side effects since the start of treatment were recorded. Based on this information, patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected to form two groups: a test group of 30 oral contraceptive users and a control group of 30 nonusers. Both groups underwent a clinical periodontal evaluation using basic diagnostic instruments: a mirror and a periodontal probe. The clinical evaluation first included the observation and recording of missing teeth, excluding third molars as they may present conditions that could alter the results, such as retention, inflammation, infection, or partial eruption. Next, the presence or absence of gingival redness around each tooth was recorded using a simple coding system. Additionally, the degree of inflammation of the gingival tissues was evaluated using the Löe and Silness index, considering clinical parameters such as color, bleeding upon probing, edema, hemorrhaging, and ulcers. Bleeding on probing was measured as an indicator of inflammatory activity. Its presence or absence was recorded after 30 seconds of probing, and the result was expressed as a percentage. Values greater than 10% were considered indicative of gingivitis. Finally, the plaque index was evaluated using the Löe and Silness index to assess the degree of bacterial plaque accumulation on each tooth according to established clinical criteria. Microsoft Excel was used to record all information collected from each patient. The database was cleaned to search for outliers and validate the correct recording of each variable. The data were processed using the appropriate statistical methods in the SPSS Statistics program, version 25, to address each objective. The results will be presented using descriptive statistics, tables, and frequency and percentage graphs. The chi-square statistical test will be used to determine the relationship between oral contraceptives and gingivitis.
Institutions
- Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez UreñaNacional, Santo Domingo