PERIODONTAL HEALTH AND FEMALE FERTILITY: EXPLORING THE ORAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONNECTION IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE

Aim: To critically synthesize the literature concerning periodontal health and female fertility, with particular attention to fecundability, infertility, assisted reproductive outcomes, employment-related factors, and proposed oral–reproductive mechanisms. Materials and Methods: Published literature addressing periodontal disease, female fertility, conception, infertility, assisted reproduction, employment, occupational stress, and oral–reproductive health was interpreted narratively. Emphasis was placed on study design, periodontal assessment, reproductive outcomes, potential confounding, biological plausibility, and clinical relevance. No systematic-review, meta-analytic, or formal evidence-synthesis methodology was applied. Result(s): Observational evidence suggests possible associations between periodontal disease and reduced fecundability or infertility in some populations, but findings are heterogeneous and largely observational. Studies of women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment have also produced inconsistent findings. Employment is not established as an independent biological cause of reduced fertility; age at pregnancy, socioeconomic circumstances, occupational stress, working patterns, and healthcare access may modify reproductive and oral-health outcomes. Conclusion: Periodontal inflammation is a biologically plausible component of the oral–reproductive health environment, but a direct causal relationship between periodontitis and impaired female conception has not been established. Prospective studies with standardized periodontal and reproductive measures and interventional studies are needed.