Oral inflammation may impair female fertility, new Israeli research shows

Chronic inflammation in the mouth could be a contributing factor to unexplained infertility in women, suggests new research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). The study proposes that oral inflammation can trigger a systemic immune response that adversely affects the ovaries, potentially leading to oxidative damage, diminished egg quality, disrupted follicle development, and a reduced live-birth rate.

This research points to a biological connection between oral health and infertility that was previously not well understood. The findings could pave the way for new treatment strategies targeting oral inflammation to improve reproductive outcomes. While similar effects might impact male fertility, the researchers noted a significant difference due to women's limited number of ova compared to men's vast sperm production.

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When couples can’t achieve a pregnancy, a third involves the woman, a third involves her partner, and the rest are “unexplained infertility, said Klutstein in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

Published in the Journal of Dental Research, the study investigated the mechanisms by which chronic oral inflammation affects female fertility, specifically focusing on oocytes. The researchers used a mouse model to examine inflammation associated with dental implants, a common clinical scenario, and observed how immune signals spread throughout the body.

In the study, four female mice were mated with males four weeks after implant insertion, serving as the experimental group. A control group of four age-matched females without implants was used for comparison. While all females in the control group delivered litters within five weeks, only one female in the implanted group gave birth, and she delivered only a single pup. This suggests a significant impairment of fertility due to the induced inflammation.

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Our discovery could help find the reason for this third group. Similar effects might harm men’s fertility as well, but there’s a big difference; women have a limited number of ova, but men have huge numbers of sperm.