Abstract Objective:

To compare gingival and dental health indices between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women during the first 6-month period after childbirth.

Material and Methods:

In this longitudinal study, 25 lactating mothers and 25 non-lactating mothers who had delivered a month ago were examined. The groups were identical in terms of educational level, age, income, and delivery time. Periodontal and dental indices including Pocket Depth (PD), Gingival Index (GI), Clinical Attachment Level (CAL), Bleeding on Probing (BOP) and DMFT were checked initially and after 2-4-6 months. Data were presented with the use of descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and frequencies). The gingival health parameters were compared between the two groups with the use of Chi-square, Wilcoxon, and Kruskal-Wallis tests Results: Evaluation of PD showed that in the breastfeeding mothers increased from 1.97 mm at baseline to 2.44 mm after six months, while in the non-breastfeeding mother, the PDs increased from 2.03 mm at baseline to 2.11 mm after six months and at the 6-month interval, the PDs were significantly higher in the breastfeeding mothers (p>0.001). In breastfeeding mothers, the rate of dental caries was 12.68, with 11.52 in non-breastfeeding mothers (p>0.05). The rates of white spots in breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers were 1.64 and 0.88, respectively.

The degree of CAL and the rate of GI were similar between the two groups of mothers Conclusion:

Some periodontal indices (Pocket Depth and Bleeding on Probing) in lactating mothers were significantly higher than non-lactating mothers others (Clinical Attachment Level and Gingival Index) were similar. There were no significant differences in dental indices between lactating and non-lactating mothers. However, the rate of the white spot was more in the lactating group. Breastfeeding can be one of the risk factors in gingival inflammation and dental caries.