Abstract

SELF-REPORTED ORAL HEALTH ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

Zahra Al Omran*, Zahraa Al-Shakhori, Nora Al-Qhtani, Dr. Mohammad Abdul Baseer and Dr. Bader Bamousa

Abstract

Pregnancy has no direct causation on tooth loss. Number of factors that influence the rapidity and progression of incipient or already wellestablished oral disease. Hormonal changes during pregnancy likely to predispose women to gingivitis, affecting 35-100% of pregnant women. This is mainly because of estrogen. Gum become inflamed, edematous and sensitive, with a tendency to bleed easily and existing gingivitis may worsen considerably during pregnancy if plaque is not removed. A cross-sectional study was designed to collect data from pregnant women attending at gynecology department. All the responses were collected, entered into the excel sheet and subjected to statistical analysis by SPSS software program. In general pregnant women from Al-Sharaqia city showed poor oral health attitude and behaviors. Non-Saudi Pregnant women (5.89) showed significantly higher mean HU-DBI score compared to non-pregnant women (4.76), t=-2.907, p=0.004. Other socio-demographic variables (working status, education, income and trimesters of pregnancy) did not show any significant difference with respect to the HU-DBI score p>0.005.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Oral Health, Gingivitis, Plague.