Oral health practices among pregnant women in North Eastern Nigeria

Objective : The objective of this study was to document oral health practices of pregnant women in two tertiary institutions in North-eastern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of pregnant women seen at the antenatal clinics of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre Yola from May 1, 2009 to July 1, 2009. Results: A total of 294 women were interviewed. They were aged 15-46 with a mean of 27.42 5.97 years. The parity ranged from 1 to 9 with a mean of 2.23 1.65. Twelve (4.1) women gave a history of symptomatic oral lesion in index pregnancy. Forty-four (15) had had previous encounter with a dentist, while the highest frequency of oral care was twice a day in 164 (55.8) of respondents. The majority, 264 (89.9), used toothbrush/toothpaste as a form of oral care while 2 (0.7) used charcoal. Women of low parity tended to have better oral care than those of high parity (P = 0.002). Women who are employed had better oral care than housewives (x(2) = 27.749, P = 0.001). There was no significant relationship between oral complaints and trimester of pregnancy (x(2) = 4.271, P = 0.118). Conclusion: Oral healthcare among the respondents was encouraging but involvement of the dental surgeon in preventive oral care in pregnancy is rather dismal.