Periodontal disease awareness among pregnant women and its relationship with socio‐demographic variables

Abstract

Certain conditions may have an affect on gingival status and may aggravate pre-existing disease, especially in persons with poor oral hygiene. Pregnancy is one of these conditions. In addition, there is evidence in the literature suggesting an association between periodontal diseases in pregnant women and giving birth to premature, low-birth infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of periodontal health knowledge, and awareness, among pregnant women in Jordan. This was carried out by cross-sectional survey using self-administered, structured questionnaires distributed at six maternity care centres in Irbid City. Questionnaire items addressed personal and socio-demographic variables and periodontal health awareness and knowledge of pregnant women. Women (n = 300) were randomly chosen from attendants to these centres. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed, only 275 pregnant women ages 16-45 years with a mean of 29 year responded and were included in the study. Data were analysed by chi-squared test with the level of significance set at (P < 0.05). About one-third of the participants had secondary level of education; it appeared that a minority of the pregnant women had knowledge or ability to identify dental plaque (16.4%) and its harmful effects (22.5%), while most of them (88%) were aware that bleeding gums indicated the presence of periodontal disease. The differences in the responses to knowledge questions were only significant for question number one (What is plaque?) among different educational levels and groups. This study revealed that (71.6%) of the pregnant women knew the main cause of gum disease; however 56% of them do not believe that frequency of teeth brushing should be increased during pregnancy and only 5.1% believed there might be a relationship between gum diseases and premature labour. Knowledge and awareness for pregnant women about their teeth and gingival condition is generally poor. Pregnant women need accurate information about their teeth and oral health. Simple educational preventive programmes on oral self-care and disease prevention before and during pregnancy should be provided to improve oral health.

Dental awareness and oral health of pregnant women in Poland

“…Conclusions of almost all those authors have formed a general message that pregnant women should be classified as a dentally vulnerable group in the countries that do not respect the rule yet, and that the range of prevention activities in the countries that already comply with this rule should be expanded [6,19,21,22]. Current self-assessment is the primary motivator for pregnant women to undertake or refrain from taking numerous important steps, such as urgent visit to a dentist, starting the thorough cleaning of the teeth, use of dental floss or rinsing oral cavity with a rinsing liquid, or including products containing fluoride into the diet, etc.…”

“…If this change is accompanied by a lack of concern for oral hygiene, plaque and multiplying microorganisms may cause gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontal diseases are listed as one of the causes of pre-term birth or low birth weight [2,5,6]. Growth of pathogenic oral flora is enhanced by unhealthy dietary habits: increased intake of simple sugars as well as higher frequency of intake of snacks between the main meals.…”

Accessibility of information about oral health and dental care to pregnant women in Vilnius

“…A study carried out by Alwaeli and AlJundi (21) noted that only 5.1% of preg nant respondents believed there might be a relationship be tween gum diseases and premature labour. However, 56% of pregnant respondents did not believe that the frequency of teeth brushing should be increased during pregnancy.…”

“…The authors concluded that pregnant women needed more ac curate and complete information about their teeth and oral health. Moreover, simple educational preventive programs on oral selfcare and disease prevention before and during pregnancy should be provided to improve oral health (21). A research carried out by K. Dinas et al showed that the majority of pregnant women (72.2%) believed that dental treatment during pregnancy might have a negative effect on pregnancy outcome (9).…”

Pregnant Patient Knowledge of and Obstetric Provider Advice on Oral Health

“…Pregnancy also contributes to tumor-like growths, epulisgravidarum (0.2% to 9.6% of pregnant patients), care practices in some manner influence periodontal disease outcomes in pregnant women as well as their offspring [21,22].…”