Oral Health and Oral Contraceptive - Is it a Shadow behind Broad Day Light? A Systematic Review

Oral contraceptives are one of the risk factors for gingival disease. Oral contraceptives can affect the proliferation of cell, growth and differentiation of tissues in the periodontium. Nowadays recent research has suggested that the newer generation oral contraceptives have less influence on gingival diseases.

The purpose of this study was to systematically review the effect of oral contraceptives on periodontium.

A literature review was performed; PubMed, PubMed Central and Cochrane Library, Embase, Google Scholar were searched from 1970 up to December 2015 to identify appropriate studies.

Out of the total 94 titles appeared 13 articles fulfilled the criteria and were selected for the review. Two articles which were hand searched and one article which was through e-mail was also included. The hormones progesterone and estrogen have direct impact on immune system of the body and thus, affect the pattern and rate of collagen production in the gingiva. Furthermore, the review also shows that longer duration usage of oral contraceptive could lead to poorer oral hygiene status, gingival inflammation and increased susceptibility to periodontal disease.

There are relatively few studies evaluating the effect of oral contraceptives on periodontium. It was found that oral contraceptives have a marked effect on periodontium. The gingival changes after use of oral contraceptives are pronounced in the first few months and with the passage of time these changes get enhanced.