The Status of Dental Caries and Some Acting Factors in a Sample of Iranian Women with Pregnancy

Pregnant women are more susceptible to periodontal disease like gingivitis. Periodontal disease may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. There is no published literature on dental health in pregnant women in Arak city in Iran. This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study conducted at the 340 pregnant women. The sampling procedure used was a stratified cluster sampling technique. Subjects were randomly selected and questionnaire was given to women in 15 health centers. The level of knowledge, attitude and practice of oral health behavior were recorded. Results revealed that: The mean knowledge of the women is 43.2 ±9.8 and the mean DMFT is 5.4±2.83 for the sample and 21-25, 26-30 and 31-35 year-olds were 2.9, 5.6 and 5.9, respectively. The knowledge related to dental care was also poor among the pregnant women. Though the majority of them (82%) agreed that women should have a dental check-up during pregnancy, only 46% actually practiced this. Significant positive correlations existed between the participant's age and DMFT (r=0.44), DT (r= 0.36) and FT scores (r= 0.41), respectively. In conclusions: This study highlights important gaps in dental knowledge and practices related to oral and dental healthcare among pregnant women. More intense dental health education, including oral health promotion in maternal child health centers can lead to improved oral and dental health and ultimately pregnancy outcomes.