Self-Reported oral health, oral hygiene habits, and dental attendance of pregnant women in Tulkarem city

Amira  Shaheen, PhD and Suad A Samara, MD, An Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

Abstract Text:

Introduction:

During pregnancy, women become more susceptible to periodontal disease and gingivitis (1).  Associations between poor maternal oral health, preeclampsia and preterm labor at maternal level were reported by some studies.  Indeed, poor maternal oral health was reported to affect babies negatively.  Such effect includes low birth weight and increased risk of early childhood carries through the direct transmission of bacteria from infected saliva (2, 3, 4, 5).

Prompted by the absence of information about the oral health habits and practices among pregnant women in Palestine, we decided to conduct this study.  Its aim is to describe self-reported oral health, oral hygiene habits, and dental practices among pregnant women in maternal health clinic in Tulkarem City, in the North of West Bank.   

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional study, where a self-administered questionnaire was distributed on a convenient sample of pregnant women visiting Maternal and Child Care Unit of Ministry of Health in Tulkarem.  Results are expressed as numbers and percentages of respondents for each question and analyzed with SPSS; the Chi-Square test was used to evaluate the differences between several variables and the level of significant set to P<0.05.

Results:

One hundred participants answered self-reported questionnaire about oral health, 68% reported having dental caries and 31% reported having gingival problem.  43% of pregnant women visited dentist during pregnancy, 41% believes dental treatment during pregnancy have an adverse effect on fetus while 49% believe in the statement “a tooth for a baby”.  Regarding oral health practices 97% brush their teeth mostly twice or more a day but only 22% use an additional means for teeth cleaning. 

Conclusions:

This study shows that the Palestinian women need a health education program before and during pregnancy, as most women do not visit dentist during pregnancy.

عنوان المؤتمر

2014 World Congress on Epidemiology

دولة المؤتمر

الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية

تاريخ المؤتمر

17 أغسطس، 2014 - 21 أغسطس، 2014

راعي المؤتمر

International Epidemiology Association

معلومات إضافية

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