Pregnant women's attitudes and knowledge about oral health

Abstract

Background: Good oral health of pregnant women is important for their own health and the health of the fetus and can reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy. The development of early childhood caries is associated with the transfer of bacteria from the mother's oral cavity, and there is a need to promote oral health during pregnancy and the perinatal period. Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate attitudes and knowledge regarding oral health and infant oral health among pregnant women. Materials and methods: The study involved 130 pregnant women in the Republic of North Macedonia who completed an anonymous online questionnaire (Google Forms) from January to June 2022. The questionnaire was divided into three parts. The first part contained questions about the general demographic data of the respondents and their own experience with oral health in pregnancy. The second part was related to the knowledge of the relationship between oral health and pregnancy. The third section consisted of questions related to knowledge about the oral health of children at the earliest age. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: The study involved 130 pregnant 19 to 42-year-old women. The women are most informed about oral health in pregnancy from their dentists (30.8 %), but least from doctors of family medicine (3.1%). In pregnancy, gingival bleeding was observed by 60.8 % of respondents, and tooth mobility by 22.3 %. The chi-square test found that there was a difference in attitude regarding the age at which they should stop breastfeeding between respondents who had their first pregnancy and those who already had children (Chi-square value =13.216, p = 0.004, p < 0.05). Only 20.5 % of respondents are aware that breastfeeding can cause tooth decay. Linear regression analysis showed that pregnant women's knowledge about the association between pregnancy and periodontal diseases is statistically significantly positively associated with their gynecologist's advice to visit a dentist (β = 1.282, p ≤ 0.001). In addition, pregnant women's knowledge about children's oral health is statistically significantly negatively associated with women already having children (β = -0.693, p = 0.043). Conclusion: Pregnant women in the Republic of North Macedonia do not have sufficient knowledge, and they are neither aware of the importance of oral health during pregnancy nor infant oral health.