Prevalence of myths regarding oral health among pregnant women in North India

Abstract

Objectives To study the prevalence of myths regarding oral health care in pregnant women in North Indian population. Methods This cross‐sectional study used a self‐administered closed‐ended questionnaire to assess oral healthcare related beliefs and practices in 400 pregnant women who reported for prenatal checkup in a tertiary healthcare centre in North India. The questionnaire included questions to elicit information on socio‐demographic factors, beliefs and practices of oral hygiene during pregnancy, attitude towards dental problems occurring during pregnancy and the reasons associated with a specific belief. Prevalence of various myths was observed, and its associations with various socio‐demographic factors, adverse pregnancy outcomes and dental symptoms were analysed. Results 84.2% of the respondents harboured at least one oral healthcare related myth. 63.4% of respondents deferred brushing for many days after delivery. 36.6% of respondents avoided consumption of hot/cold food and drinks during pregnancy due to fear of tooth loss. 24.5% of respondents believed local anaesthesia could affect baby's developing organs, and 21.8% of the studied population believed tooth extraction might cause miscarriage. Females possessing more myths were more likely to experience severe oral health problems during pregnancy. Education was depicted as a significant negative predictor of the prevalence of myths. No significant correlation between myths prevalence and history of adverse pregnancy outcomes was found. Conclusion Neglect of oral health due to myths about oral hygiene practices and dental treatment during pregnancy is a serious concern. A very high prevalence of these myths is an obstacle to goal of optimal maternal and child health.

Unfavourable beliefs about oral health and safety of dental care during pregnancy: a systematic review

“…• Dental visits are not safe [ 39 , 44 , 53 , 61 ]. • Dental visits should be avoided (reasons not specified) [ 12 , 20 , 29 , 30 ]. • Dental visits for a check-up are not safe [ 28 , 33 , 48 , 50 ].…”

“… Local anesthesia • It is not safe for pregnant women and/or the fetus [ 26 , 42 , 45 ]. • It affects the development of the baby’s organs [ 12 , 29 ]. • It is contradicted during pregnancy [ 41 , 56 ].…”

“…• Medication prescribed by dentists may harm the fetus or mother [ 11 , 27 , 45 ]. Dental extraction • It causes miscarriage [ 12 , 29 ]. • It adversely affects the fetus [ 42 ].…”

“…Consequently, oral health conditions during pregnancy are considered “normal” and pregnant women are expected to cope with their oral conditions such as oral health-related pain, gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth decay and other dental conditions [ 11 ]. Further, unfavourable beliefs about the unsafety of dental treatment prevent pregnant women from dental visits [ 12 ]. Such unfavourable oral health beliefs that act as a barrier to oral health care services utilization can therefore leave oral conditions untreated which may result in decreased oral health-related quality of life and is correlated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight [ 13 , 14 ].…”

Relationship between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women: the mediating effect of pregnancy anxiety

“…The mean OHIP-14 score in this study (7.7) was similar to the mean OHIP-14 score of pregnant women in Shanghai (7.9), China and pregnant women in India (7.0) [31] but was higher than the OHIP-14 score of pregnant women in Brazil (3.8) [32] . This phenomenon may be caused by the fact that some women in China and India, in uenced by traditional culture, believe that oral health care should be prohibited during pregnancy, which leads to the neglect of the oral health of women during pregnancy [33,34] , and thus leads to the deviation of their oral health-related quality of life. The higher oral health-related quality of life among pregnant women in Brazil may be due to the support of the Brazilian government's "Smiling Brazil" policy, which promotes oral health in primary health care methods and encourages the addition of uoride to the drinking water supply, since which Brazilian indicators of oral health have improved signi cantly [35,36] .…”