Comparative Evaluation of Oral Health Knowledge, Practices and Attitude of Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women, and Their Awareness Regarding Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes are undesirable events occurring during pregnancy and childbirth in mother or child, such as Preterm Low Birth Weight (PLBW) and preeclampsia. There is growing evidence that periodontitis may be a risk factor for preterm birth even after adjusting for known...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/6756/13819_CE[Ra1]_F(AK)_PF1(EKAK)_PFA(AK)_PF2(PAG).pdf |
| Summary: | Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes are undesirable
events occurring during pregnancy and childbirth in mother
or child, such as Preterm Low Birth Weight (PLBW) and
preeclampsia. There is growing evidence that periodontitis may
be a risk factor for preterm birth even after adjusting for known
risk factors.
Aim: 1. To determine the knowledge and attitude of pregnant
females about oral health. 2. To evaluate the oral hygiene
practices of pregnant females. 3. To evaluate their awareness
regarding effect of oral health on adverse pregnancy outcomes.
4. To assess whether there was any significant difference
from their non pregnant counter parts. 5. To evaluate whether
their awareness towards dental treatment had increased after
conceiving.
Materials and Methods: 200 pregnant and 200 non-pregnant
women filled up a validated questionnaire which comprised of
questions on personal data, oral hygiene knowledge, attitude,
oral hygiene practices and their awareness regarding the
correlation of oral health to adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Statistical Analysis: Analyses were conducted using SPSS for
Windows (version 15.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: The results indicate no statistically significant
differences in the variables assessed in both the groups,
indicating that no further knowledge had been imparted to
the women after they conceived. 96% women of both groups
(p>0.05) had received no knowledge from the gynaecologist
regarding the impact of oral health on pregnancy outcomes.
93.9% of pregnant women, and 89.5% of non pregnant women
(p>0.05) did not go for routine dental check-ups. Only 3% of
pregnant women were aware of oral health having a correlation
with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Conclusion: In our study, pregnancy did little to change future
attitudes to dental care. To provide better oral health care, more
knowledge needs to be made available to the pregnant women
and the medical community. |
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| ISSN: | 2249-782X 0973-709X |