WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICE OF ORAL HEALTH CARE DURING PREGNANCY

Background: Oral health care in pregnant women has attracted keen attention in recent times mainly due to the increasing number of reports suggesting association between periodontal diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of our study was to determine the practice and perception of oral health during pregnancy and to ascertain the self-reported oral health problems or symptoms experienced by women attending a tertiary health care institution. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out using self- administered questionnaire to obtain data from 280 women on socio-demographic data, oral health experience, attitude and practice of oral health during pregnancy. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 17) and Graph Pad Prism for windows. Results: Two hundred and six (73.6%) cleaned their teeth once daily only (before or after breakfast) and 74 (26.4%) twice daily; 132 (47.1%) sought professional dental care in and out of pregnancy. Two hundred and fourteen (76.4%) women had experienced oral health symptoms in the index pregnancy, and 66 (23.6%) had not. Reported symptomscomprised heavy tongue with change in sense of taste [n = 95, (44.4%)], bleeding gums [n = 46, (21.5%)] and mouth odour [n= 21, (9.8%)]. Relationships of frequency of tooth cleaning, and regular dental visit for professional care with observed oral symptoms were statistically significant (p = 0.017 and 0.000 respectively). Conclusions: This study highlights the presence of considerable oral symptoms and low level of awareness of oral health care among the respondents. It exposes the need to develop a strategy to bridge the gaps in oral health practices of these women during the perinatal period.