Gynecologists′ knowledge and attitudes regarding oral health and periodontal disease leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

Objectives:A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and practiced behaviors of gynecologists regarding oral health care during pregnancy and the association of periodontal disease with adverse pregnancy outcomes.Materials and Methods:A questionnaire consisting of 16 questions was designed and pilot tested. One hundred and fifty gynecologists practicing in the private sector of United Arab Emirates (UAE) were approached to voluntarily participate and fill up the questionnaire during February–March 2014. Data retrieved were entered into Excel database and analyzed using SPSS.Results:Of the 150 gynecologists approached, 108 filled the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 72%. The majority (95.4%) acknowledged a connection between oral health and pregnancy and 75.9% agreed that periodontal disease can affect the outcome of pregnancy. Moreover, most of the gynecologists (85.2%) advised their pregnant patients to visit the dentist during pregnancy. Almost three-quarter of the participants (73%) regarded dental radiographs to be unsafe during pregnancy and more than half (59.3%) considered administration of local anesthesia to be unsafe during pregnancy.Conclusion:The present study demonstrated that gynecologists have a relatively high degree of knowledge with respect to the relationship of periodontal disease to pregnancy outcome. However, there clearly exist misconceptions regarding the provision of dental treatment during pregnancy. To provide better oral health care, more knowledge needs to be made available to the pregnant women and the medical community, and misconceptions regarding the types of dental treatments during pregnancy should be clarified.

What do antenatal care providers understand and do about oral health care during pregnancy: a cross-sectional survey in New South Wales, Australia

“…Our findings also support earlier reports [32–34, 40] about the misconceptions among ANC providers regarding oral health in pregnancy. Over half of ANC providers believed the myth that calcium will be drawn out of mothers’ teeth by the developing baby, and over a third falsely believed it is unsafe to obtain dental radiographs in pregnant women.…”

“…Over half of ANC providers believed the myth that calcium will be drawn out of mothers’ teeth by the developing baby, and over a third falsely believed it is unsafe to obtain dental radiographs in pregnant women. The respondents did however demonstrate sound knowledge about the safety of dental procedures during pregnancy, similar to previous studies [32, 40, 41]. Knowledge of safe medications during pregnancy was poor among ANC providers.…”

Oral Health in Pregnancy

“…Many health professionals are aware of the importance of oral health, but often they do not address it as part of their provision of preconception, prenatal, or well woman care (Hashim & Akbar, 2014;Morgan et al, 2009). Hashim and Akbar found that 95.4% of gynecologists surveyed had knowledge about the association between oral health and pregnancy and that 85.2% recommended dental visits for their patients.…”

The role of the gynaecologist in the promotion and maintenance of oral health during pregnancy

“…Surveys conducted in other regions of the world have shown that visits to the dentist during pregnancy are suggested by 44% to 93.9% of specialists [28][29][30][31][32]. A relation between the referral of pregnant women to the dentist and knowledge about the impact of oral health on pregnancy has been shown [31].…”

“…A number of physicians still consider it dangerous to perform certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures during pregnancy, such as dental radiography and local anaesthesia [29]. In a study by Al-Habanesh et al, 81% of the doctors agreed that pregnancy caused gingival inflammation, but 88% advised patients to postpone treatment until after delivery.…”