Pattern of Oral Health Among a Population of Pregnant Women in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Oral health in pregnancy is important to the health of the pregnant woman; and good oral health plays a role in the outcome of pregnancy. However, many pregnant women and healthcare providers are either unaware of this or accord this less attention. The study was designed to describe pattern of oral health among a cohort of pregnant women. Seventy-seven pregnant women attending antenatal care at a secondary healthcare facility were evaluated in third trimester following written informed consent. Each participant had a structured data collection form administered and clinical examination conducted. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, dental and obstetric history and examination were obtained. Dental assessment involved the use of the oral hygiene, gingival, periodontal and caries indices. The data collected was entered and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The mean age of the participants was 29.90 (± 4.38) years and all women were in the third trimester of pregnancy. Only 6.5% of the participants had dental complaints, to 26% indicated brushing twice a day and 96.1% never had dental health check in the past. A good oral hygiene score was found in 40% of participants; 6.5% and 10.4% had a healthy periodontal and gingival status respectively and only 8 (10.4%) had caries. Less than half of the pregnant women had good oral health status. The antenatal care period may be an opportunity to identify oral diseases; counsel and introduce positive oral health behaviours and enhance improved personal oral hygiene.