Dental awareness and oral health of pregnant women in Poland

Abstract

Objectives: The level of dental awareness of a pregnant woman affects the sanitary condition of her own teeth and the health of the child to be born. Poor oral health is considered to be a probable risk factor for the pre-term birth or low birth weight. The aim of this work was to assess the level of oral health knowledge that determines oral health condition of pregnant women in Poland. Material and Methods: Empirical data were obtained from the National Monitoring of Oral Health and Its Determinants, financed by the Ministry of Health. This socio-epidemiological study assessed oral health status and dental health awareness, which affects that status. Study subjects included 1380 pregnant women at the age ranging from 15 to 44, randomly-selected from urban and rural environments. Dental health status was recorded in the clinical examination sheets supplied by the World Health Organization, and the socio-medical data were recorded in the questionnaire interview sheets. Results: Almost 3/4 of the pregnant women evaluated their dental health as unsatisfactory or poor. Over 60% of the pregnant women rated their knowledge and practical skills concerning care of their own teeth and of the child to be born as limited, inadequate or none. Only 40% of the pregnant women provided right answers to the questions about dental issues. Conclusions: Low oral health awareness results in poor oral health status of the study subjects. A statistical pregnant woman has a total of 13 teeth showing the symptoms of tooth decay or caries. Over 70% of the pregnant women developed gingivitis or periodontitis. There is an urgent need in Poland to make the European principle of treating pregnant women as a dentally vulnerable group obligatory.

Oral Health Knowledge and Related Factors among Pregnant Women Attending to a Primary Care Center in Spain

“…Likewise, a significant association between referred oral health state among pregnant women and general knowledge about oral health (p = 0.012) was found. These results also match with the investigations carried out by Gaszynska et al [31] and Boggess et al [32]. The same happens between referred oral health state and level of education among pregnant women, as shown in other investigations [24,27,29].…”

“…In the study by Martínez-Beneyto et al [24], the level of perceived oral health was grouped into excellent, very good, good, and poor, with a predominance of the good level (64.7%), comparable to the medium level of our study and therefore, there is also a coincidence with the present study. On the other hand, in the study by Gaszynska et al [31] (Poland, 2015), the state of oral health prevailed as medium (59.6%), followed by good (25%), and finally 14.7% considered it bad. However, this does not coincide with the studies by Aguilar-Cordero et al [25], Avula et al [27], and Bogges et al [32] (United States, 2010), where a predominance of the good level was observed.…”

Kesehatan Gigi Mulut dan Pemanfaatan Pelayanan Kesehatan Gigi Mulut pada Ibu Hamil (Studi Pendahuluan di Wilayah Puskesmas Serpong, Tangerang Selatan)

“…Sebuah korelasi positif juga ditemukan pada penelitian di Polandia dimana Ibu hamil dengan pengetahuan kesehatan gigi mulut yang memadai, tidak memiliki masalah atau keluhan mengenai kesehatan gigi mulut mereka. 13 Kesadaran akan Pentingnya Kesehatan Gigi Mulut yang rendah menghasilkan status kesehatan mulut yang buruk dari subjek penelitian. 13 Dari penelitian ini didapat hubungan positif antara keluhan atau masalah kesehatan gigi mulut ibu hamil dengan kunjungan ke dokter gigi pada ibu hamil di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Serpong.…”

“…13 Kesadaran akan Pentingnya Kesehatan Gigi Mulut yang rendah menghasilkan status kesehatan mulut yang buruk dari subjek penelitian. 13 Dari penelitian ini didapat hubungan positif antara keluhan atau masalah kesehatan gigi mulut ibu hamil dengan kunjungan ke dokter gigi pada ibu hamil di wilayah kerja Puskesmas Serpong. Hal ini sejalan dengan Penelitian Chung dkk di California bahwa ibu hamil yang berkunjung ke Dokter Gigi lebih dari 6 bulan yang lalu memiliki status kesehatan gigi yang lebih buruk (ditandai dengan BOP, PI dan DMF-T yang lebih tinggi).…”

Determinants on Dental Caries Among Pregnant Mothers in Medical Officer of Health Area, Ambalantota, Sri Lanka

“…Study done in Baghdad revealed a higher caries experience (DMFS) among pregnant women compared to non-pregnant group but with no statistically significant difference. Caries experience (DMFS) showed a highly significant difference with pregnant educational level [7,12]. The compromised functional status, physical confinement, medical condition and cognitive impairment of significant numbers of women have important implications for oral health risks and dental treatment, in addition there are a variety of economic, social, psychological and behavioural factors which place pregnant women at risk for developing oral diseases [11].…”