A cross-sectional survey on the relationship between some biologic maternal characteristics and dental status of pregnant women in Isfahan, Iran, in 2012

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Dental caries is an infectious and transmissible disease. The interplay between pregnancy and oral health is obvious, but the risk factors are not known yet. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between some selected risk factors in pregnancy and the dental status. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 377 pregnant women attended for their routine antenatal visit at public hospitals in Esfahan city in 2012. Data, including age, number of previous deliveries, mean of pregnancy interval and gestational age were determined using interviewer-filled questionnaires. Oral health examination was performed by assessing mean number of decayed, missed and filled teeth (DMFT), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Spearman analysis was used to identify maternal characteristics correlated to dental status. RESULTS: The mean (± standard deviation) DMFT among antenatal women were 10.6 ± 4.21, with 4.10 ± 2.23 decayed teeth, 4.15 ± 2.12 missed teeth, and 2.32 ± 1.46 filled teeth. No significant difference of DMFT means were observed among the 3 gestation periods (P > 0.05). Moreover, the Spearman correlation test showed that the trend is for the DMFT to increase with age and the number of deliveries (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Results of the present study showed that the age of mother and number of previous deliveries are the risk factors for increasing DMFT. The importance of dental care and decreasing risk factors before and during pregnancy must be educated widely among both the public and providers.