Maternal Dental Health and Low Birth Weight among Term Deliveries

s: Background: Giving birth to infants of low birth weight (LBW) (less than 2,500 grams) is a major public health problem worldwide. In an attempt to identify modifiable risk factors for LBW in Saudi Arabia, the present research was undertaken to investigate a potential association between maternal dental health and dental care during pregnancy with LBW due to fetal growth retardation. Material & Methods: A case-control study was conducted on a group of post partum mothers, at two major hospitals, in Jeddah city. The case group (47 women) is defined as those mothers who delivered an infant weighing <2500g and born at term (i.e. > 37 weeks of gestation), while the control group (58 mothers) were defined as women who delivered at term infants weighing ≥2500g. Data on previous and current known risk factors and dental care services were obtained from the patients’ medical records and interviews. Maternal anthropometric data and DMFT scores were taken. Results: The selected case and control groups were relatively homogenous, based on their demographic, social and anthropometric data. However, there were significant differences between the groups in the distribution of some variables which could be associated with LBW in the study population. These include decrease in the gestational age; parity; previous delivery of LBW as well as maternal hypertension and anemia. Although the mothers in both groups had high unmet dental care needs, neither the DMFT scores nor the utilization of different dental treatments and radiographs were found to have a possible role in LBW; (P-value >0.05). Conclusion: The data of the present study showed no association between maternal dental health or dental care with LBW due to intrauterine growth retardation. [Safia Ali Al-attas Maternal Dental Health and Low Birth Weight among Term Deliveries. Life Sci J 2014;11(10):211-219]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 29