New Study: Chronic Oral Inflammation May Damage Ovarian Immune Environment, Leading to Reduced Fertility

Source: "Chronic Oral Inflammation Impairs Female Reproduction in a Murine Model"

DentalGoodNews｜A study published in the Journal of Dental Research in April 2026, based on mouse animal experiments, showed that chronic oral inflammation may spread to the ovaries through systemic immune regulation, leading to impaired follicle development, reduced egg quality, and decreased birth rates.

The study was led by Professor Michael Klutstein from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor Asaf Wilensky from the Hadassah Medical Center, with doctoral students Paz Kles and Stephen Ameho as the principal executors. The research team used a dental implant-related oral inflammation animal model to simulate the clinically common scenario of chronic peri-implantitis, systematically tracking the in vivo transmission pathway of inflammatory signals.

The results showed that after implant fixture placement, significant inflammatory responses were observed in the peri-implant mucosa of mice, with elevated cytokine expression in the lymph nodes and spleen, and corresponding changes were also detected in ovarian tissues. Specifically, these included alterations in the structure of ovarian immune cell subsets, increased oxidative damage in ovarian tissues, a reduction in the number of preantral and antral follicles, and decreased oocyte quality. At the reproductive function level, the birth rate in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group in mating experiments.

Furthermore, at the cellular level, the study results indicated that damaged oocytes exhibited DNA damage and epigenetic changes, similar to features observed during reproductive aging, suggesting that oral inflammation may indirectly affect fertility by accelerating the aging mechanism of egg cells.

"Inflammation is often viewed as a local response, but our study shows that it can have systemic consequences extending to the reproductive system," said Professor Klutstein. "Chronic oral inflammation may be an underestimated hidden factor in female infertility, potentially explaining some cases of infertility with no clear cause." According to a previous report by DENTALGOODNEWS (Leading Dental Industry Media, DGN) , another study published by the same Hebrew University research team in May this year revealed that maternal IgG antibodies can "program" the oral immune status of offspring through the placenta and breast milk, affecting susceptibility to periodontitis. This aligns with the current study in pointing to a bidirectional interaction mechanism between oral immunity and systemic health.

It should be noted that the researchers pointed out that this study is based on mouse animal experiments, and its conclusions cannot be directly extrapolated to human clinical applications for now. The relevant results still require validation through clinical human trials.