Pregnant women utilization of dental services: still a challenge in low resource setting

Abstract

Background Poor oral health in pregnancy can be associated with poor pregnancy outcome, however, dental consultation among pregnant women appears to be low. Methods This was a questionnaire-based study of 413 women who attended the antenatal clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu. The information obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 22. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Only 36 (8.7%) of the respondents had dental consultations in index pregnancy for complaints such as tooth ache and decay (66.7%) and pain as well as swelling of the gum (33.3%). The most common reason given for not visiting a dentist during the index pregnancy was the visit not being relevant to their pregnancy outcome (69.2%). After counseling them, only 249 (60.3%) agreed to have dental consultation during subsequent pregnancies. The relationship between visiting the dentist and place of residence (< 0.001), occupation (0.019) and frequency of brushing/ changing of brush (0.005, < 0.001 respectively) were statistically significant. Conclusion The prevalence of dental consultation during pregnancy is very low. Pregnant women should be encouraged to have routine dental consultation with oral health counseling and check-up incorporated as part of routine antenatal care.

Odontogenic Infections in Pregnancy: Case Studies

“…12,17 However, routine dental screening for pregnant women is not common in developing nations like Tanzania, due to limited resources and conflicting healthcare requirements where dental care is often overlooked. 18 Furthermore, the societal myth that tooth extraction during pregnancy results in pregnancy loss and death contributes to delayed health-seeking behaviour. Therefore, this case series aims to stress the need for incorporating dental care evaluation during routine ANC so that early interventions can be provided.…”

The severity of untreated caries in the deciduous and permanent teeth among children aged 6-12 years using PUFA and pufa index: a cross-sectional study

“…Deep carious Padjadjaran Journal of Dentistry • Volume 35, Number 3, November 2023 lesions with pulp involvement are still considered dentin caries and the presence of pulp involvement is not mentioned in the latest edition of the WHO oral health survey. 7 There is an urgent need to identify a scoring system that measures the clinical consequences of untreated caries lesions. An index that can measure various advanced stages of caries lesions called the PUFA index was identified from the existing literature.…”

“…This index records the consequences of untreated carious lesions (P-Pulp involvement, U-Ulceration, F-Fistula and A-abscess). 7 The novelty of this study is that the presentation of data on the number of caries severity will be presented per tooth in both the right and left maxillary teeth and the right and left mandibles, and compare the number of caries severity in each jaw region in children. The PUFA Index and PUFA are used to measure the severity of dental and oral condition 8 which are not commonly used due to its novelty 8 , and this index can be used to measure untreated dental caries 7 and caries activities.…”

Knowledge and Practices Regarding Oral Hygiene, Cariogenic Diet Intake, and Dental Check-Ups Among Registered Nurses in Nigeria: A Pilot Study

“…13 It has been observed that people's understanding and behaviors toward oral health plays a very crucial role in determining their oral health status. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] In Nigeria, several studies have been conducted amongst different population groups to explore their knowledge, attitudes, practices, and status (KAPS) concerning oral hygiene, cariogenic diet, and dental check-up [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] ; however, only very few of these studies were conducted among nurses. [26][27][28] From these few studies, it was observed that the prevalence of dental caries experience and poor oral hygiene practices is significantly high among nurses.…”