Teleconference: The Mouth Is the Gateway to a Healthy Body

4/29/2004

From: Michelle Weber, 312-751-0147, ext. 226, for the Santa Fe Group

News Advisory:

Teleconference: The Mouth Is the Gateway to a Healthy Body

WHEN: Friday, April 30 at 10 a.m. CT, 11 a.m. ET

Dial in number: 866-297-6315

WHAT: What are the implications of gum disease for pregnant women?

-- Recent studies show that pregnant women who develop gum disease are three to eight times more likely to deliver an infant too little too soon.

-- Thirteen percent of pregnant women have gum disease.

-- Prematurity is the cause of death to the more than 50 percent of babies who die within the first year.

-- Treating pregnant women for their dental disease reduces the risk of preterm births.

Dr. Marjorie K. Jeffcoat is dean and professor of periodontics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Jeffcoat is the school's first woman dean and the eleventh in the university's 125-year history.

Dr. Jeffcoat will present the evidence to date, review ongoing studies and discuss health and policy implications.

If we treat gum disease, will we notice improved blood sugar control in diabetes?

-- People with diabetes are more likely to develop gum disease.

-- However, more research is needed to determine whether control of gum disease helps to control blood sugar

-- A multi-site VA study is being conducted to learn whether aggressively treating gum disease helps control diabetes.

Dr. Judith Jones is associate professor and chair of the Department of General Dentistry at the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine and senior research scientist -- at the VA Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research in Bedford, Massachusetts.

To participate in the teleconference, contact Michelle Weber at 312-751-0147 or via email at michellew@stewcommltd.com. Please register as soon as possible.

There is a limit to the number of participants that can be accommodated.

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The Santa Fe Group, headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, fosters policy and initiates actions to improve the health and well-being of the public. They accomplish this mission by analyzing and disseminating health-program and policy information, by creating networks of concerned citizens from all walks of life and by developing advocacy programs to promote change for improved health. For more information visit http://www.santafegroup.org.