Periodontitis & sub-fertility; opinions and practices of Nigerian specialists

Increasing evidence in the emerging field of periodontal medicine continues to stimulate research to verify the association between chronic periodontitis and general health. The link between chronic periodontitis and sub-fertility has not been well-investigated except for a handful of reports spanned over several decades.

As a prelude to a series of observational and interventional studies, 119 specialists and doctors participated in an online survey to ascertain their practices and opinions about this link. Our main exposure variables were dental history taking, periodontal/dental referrals and knowledge of possible link between chronic periodontitis and sub-fertility.

Our findings showed that dental history taking and periodontal/dental referrals were not part of sub-fertility management protocols of Nigerian specialists and doctors. These findings proved true irrespective of basic and postgraduate experience. Specialty was the only explanatory variable that accounted for statistical significance with the main exposure variables but the figures of members of different specialties were too low for any meaningful comparisons.

The findings confirmed our suspicion of an almost complete lack of knowledge of this unlikely yet plausible association which deserves further research.