AWARENESS AMONG FEMALES ABOUT ORAL HYGIENE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY

Abstract

Background: Oral cavity is said to be the main site of entry, an important reservoir for various microorganisms.
Oral health is viewed as a window to general health. Proving these statements, there are various studies done showing
the relation between oral infections and systemic diseases, several oral manifestations of systemic diseases.
Differences in oral hygiene maintenance among different age groups and gender has also been focused in recent
decades. Though there are no significant differences noted in the gingival microflora between males and females, it
was found that hormonal changes act as a major influence on women’s oral health. Women on pregnancy experience
the hormonal changes of various hormones released causing diseases like pregnancy gingivitis, dental caries,
pregnancy granuloma, periodontitis which brings in the need for additional care over plaque control and oral hygiene
maintenance in pregnant women.
Aim: This study aims to determine the awareness about oral hygiene among females before, during and after
pregnancy.
Materials and method: The present study involves online study setting done in the year 2021. A set of self-evaluable
questionnaires were prepared, approved by the institutional review board, Saveetha dental college, chennai and
circulated among females in the South Indian population. After about 150 responses, the data collected was
documented, tabulated and analysed using SPSS statistics (Chi square analysis). The results were visually presented
as pie charts and bar graphs.
Results and discussion: In the selected populations, 60.7% of the participants belong to 18-25 years of age, 27.3%
of the individuals belong to the 25-35 age group followed by 12% of the individuals under 35-45 years of age. About
27% of the participants from 25-35 years, 25% of the participants from 18-25 years of the participants were aware
that women are being more susceptible to hormonal changes and need proper care to maintain oral hygiene. Age group
between 25-35 years showed maximum awareness (statistically significant). The response seems to help us understand
the awareness about various factors like the influence of hormonal changes over one's oral health, susceptibility of
women towards hormonal changes, precautionary measures for oral hygiene during pregnancy, importance of
consulting gynaecologist before any dental treatment and which trimester is preferred to be the safest period for dental
treatments. Chi square test was done to analyse the responses of the questionnaire surveyed to study their statistical
significance where p< 0.05(statistically significant). The p values were found to be, p<0.05 proving statistical
significance in this present study.
Conclusion: There exists a significant level of awareness among females about oral hygiene before, during and after
pregnancy. Further awareness camps should be conducted to increase awareness about proper guidelines for oral
hygiene, specific facts and myths related to oral health during pregnancy should be addressed and spread awareness
about the same.