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Flossing for Fertility

Pay Attention to Oral Health When You're Trying to Conceive

By Kelly Burgess

When a woman is dealing with infertility, how much she flosses is probably the last thing on her mind, but that may be about to change. Recent research is providing some fascinating, albeit preliminary, indications that oral health is impacted negatively by some infertility treatments, and poor oral hygiene may actually be a factor in infertility.

While these studies are in their infancy, the conclusions, added to other evidence about how oral health impacts general health, join a body of research that may lead to a complete overhaul of the way the health and insurance industries view the link between oral health and overall health – including fertility issues. When this happens, good dental health is going to be on everyone's mind.

About six years ago, Dr. Cenk Haytac and his wife were undergoing infertility treatments. During the course of these treatments, Dr. Haytac's wife often complained of sensitive and bleeding gums. Most husbands would probably have paid little attention to this seemingly trivial problem, but Dr. Haytac is a highly respected dental researcher based at Cukurova University in Turkey. He knew that his wife had excellent oral hygiene, and there was no apparent reason for her symptoms. He also noted that these symptoms seemed to appear only during the phases when she was taking clomiphene (a drug that stimulates the production of hormones and induces ovulation). Curious, he decided to look for a connection.

Dr. Haytac went on to perform oral exams on 79 women, who received one of four infertility treatments, and 20 women who were not receiving fertility treatments. This sample included women who were being treated with clomiphene for various lengths of time and in combination with other common infertility drugs. The results indicated that women who received fertility treatments for more than three menstrual cycles had higher levels of gum inflammation and bleeding compared with women not receiving fertility treatment and those treated for no more than three menstrual cycles. His findings were published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Periodontology

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