Awareness on Oral Hygiene Measures Among Pregnant Women -A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Dental care during pregnancy is extremely important. From keeping up with daily oral hygiene, to monitoring changes in the young mouth, the more in-tune you are with your oral health the healthier your baby will be. During pregnancy, there is a change in the hormone levels which makes the oral cavity more vulnerable to microorganisms and plaque, both of which gingivitis during pregnancy. This can put you at greater risk for tooth decay and gum disease. The need to maintain good oral hygiene status among pregnant women is very important for proper pregnancy outcomes. Maintenance of oral health during pregnancy has been recognised as an important public health issue worldwide. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to create awareness among pregnant women regarding oral hygiene A survey was conducted for 50 pregnant women, from Poonamallee Govt. Hospital, Kilpauk Govt. Hospital, a questionnaire was given to them which took into account of their age and for how many months they are undergoing pregnancy, did they undergone any dental treatment before or not, do they have any prevailing teeth problems or not and what all nutritional supplements are they taking, are they facing any gum related problems or not after becoming pregnant. Responses were obtained and analysis was done in the Statistical Product and service solutions (SPSS) software. After the survey was conducted it was seen that 56% of the patients were undergoing through the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. 62% of the patients brushed twice a day. 76% of the patients did not undergo any dental treatment pre pregnancy. Only 28% have a problem of bad breath. 84% of them were having gum related problems after becoming pregnant. So from this survey, we can conclude that gum related problems are very common after becoming pregnant, especially in the 2nd trimester and most of them do not visit dentists for regular check up.