Background:
In 2006, based on a review of published research and the opinion of specialists from the CDC/ASTDR Preconception Care Work Group and the Select Panel on Preconception Care, CDC issued Recommendations to Improve Preconception Health and Health Care – United States. This report noted that dental interventions can reduce the risk for prematurity and low birth weight deliveries and that evidence supports recommendations for the appropriate use of fluorides and dietary control to reduce levels of decay-causing bacteria that can be transmitted from parent to child, particularly for women who have experienced high rates of dental caries. The report also noted that dental disease is among a number of medical conditions associated with increased risks for morbidity and mortality to mother and fetus, and that women need to control these conditions. Despite these findings, the relationship between oral health and systemic health remains largely unknown in the medical community.

Objectives:
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to cite three general health conditions that are impacted by a woman's oral health; describe the relationship between periodontal disease in a pregnant woman and its effect on pregnancy outcomes; identify three strategies for integrating preconception care into clinical dental practice; describe strategies that medical providers can use to encourage women of childbearing age to maintain their oral health; and describe policies for overcoming barriers to women's ability to access preconception oral health services.

Methods:
This session will review what is known about the relationship between oral health and systemic health and, in keeping with the CDC recommendations, will discuss how preconception care can be integrated into dental practice and how oral health is being integrated into primary care. The session will conclude with a discussion of state policy changes that are helping to integrate preconception care into public dental care programs.

Results:
Participants will increase their knowledge and understanding of the relationship between oral and systemic health and the implications of that relationship for preconception health and health care.

Conclusion and implications for practice:
Medical, dental and public health practitioners who understand the relationship between oral and systemic health and the implications of that relationship for preconception health and health care will be better able to influence public policy that addresses the need for integrating oral health into primary and preconception health and health care.