Association of Dental Anxiety and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Pregnant Women: A Cross-sectional Survey

Abstract

To explore the association between dental anxiety and oral health-related quality of life among Chinese pregnant women. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a consecutive 502 pregnant women in the outpatient departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology from a local general hospital. The measures included a dental anxiety questionnaire to assess dental anxiety, the Chinese version of Oral Health Impact Profile to assess oral health-related quality of life, and a self-designed questionnaire to collect data on the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Of the participants, 26.7% suffered from dental anxiety. The overall OHIP-14 was 9.16 ± 7.19. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis found that higher dental anxiety was significantly associated with lower oral health-related quality of life (P < 0.001). The dental anxiety of pregnant women may be a significant indicator of their oral health-related quality of life.

Dental Phobia among Pregnant Women: Considerations for Healthcare Professionals

“…Dental phobia, lack of dental awareness, financial barriers, difficult access to dental service, misunderstandings/ misconceptions about dental care during pregnancy, and low priority for oral health are some of the reasons for reduced utilization of oral care in pregnant women [16,29]. Awareness about oral health should be raised so that pregnant women can receive the needed oral care and improve their oral health as increased dental anxiety can lower their oral health-related quality of life [30]. ey should be encouraged to receive oral care during the second Adjusted for age, nationality, trimester of pregnancy, bad dental experience, dental attendance, regular dental visits, and updating oral health knowledge.…”