Chacko Leena Kunnath, Shenoy Rekha P, Kalladka Prashanth Kumar
Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Yenepoya Nursing College, Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Derlakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.
Public Health Dentisry Department, HOD/Faculty ofYenepoya Dental College, Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Derlakatte, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.
BMC Oral Health. 2025 Jul 26;25(1):1264. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06654-3.
Oral health is essential for pregnant women to maintain their general health, well-being, and overall quality of life. The natural physiological process of pregnancy causes brief alterations in women's immune system, metabolism, hormone levels, and physical composition.
A descriptive study was conducted among 258 pregnant women at selected primary health centers of Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka state, India. Cluster sampling techniques were employed to choose the taluks. Six to seven primary health centers each were chosen randomly from two taluks, namely Bantwal and Belthangadi. Pregnant women were screened for oral health problems at antenatal clinics of Primary Health Centers. Pregnant women with oral health problems were recruited to assess the quality of life, and those with systemic diseases were excluded from the study. The data were collected using the demographic proforma, Oral health assessment tool, and oral health impact profile-14 scale.
The findings indicate that pregnant women had mild to moderate oral health problems (74.8%). Oral health problems had a mild impact on the quality of life of more than half (57.8%) of pregnant women and 42.2% had a moderate effect on quality of life. Study found a significant association of quality of life with the baseline characteristics like monthly income of the family (i.e. F = 4.109, p = 0.008) and previous information regarding oral health (i.e. F = 5.581, p = 0.019).
This study found that most pregnant women had mild to moderate oral health problems, which affected their quality of life. Baseline variables such as family income and prior knowledge about oral health were associated with these outcomes. The study highlights the need for prenatal oral health counselling and the role of trained Community Health Workers in promoting good oral hygiene.
口腔健康对于孕妇维持总体健康、幸福感和整体生活质量至关重要。怀孕的自然生理过程会导致女性免疫系统、新陈代谢、激素水平和身体组成发生短暂变化。
在印度卡纳塔克邦达欣纳卡纳达区选定的初级卫生中心对258名孕妇进行了一项描述性研究。采用整群抽样技术选择乡。从班特瓦尔和贝尔坦加迪两个乡中随机各选取6至7个初级卫生中心。在初级卫生中心的产前诊所对孕妇进行口腔健康问题筛查。招募有口腔健康问题的孕妇以评估生活质量，患有全身性疾病的孕妇被排除在研究之外。使用人口统计学表格、口腔健康评估工具和口腔健康影响概况 - 14量表收集数据。
研究结果表明，孕妇存在轻度至中度口腔健康问题（74.8%）。口腔健康问题对超过半数（57.8%）孕妇的生活质量有轻度影响，42.2%对生活质量有中度影响。研究发现生活质量与家庭月收入等基线特征（即F = 4.109，p = 0.008）以及先前的口腔健康信息（即F = 5.581，p = 0.019）之间存在显著关联。
本研究发现，大多数孕妇存在轻度至中度口腔健康问题，这影响了她们的生活质量。家庭收入和口腔健康相关的先验知识等基线变量与这些结果相关。该研究强调了产前口腔健康咨询的必要性以及训练有素的社区卫生工作者在促进良好口腔卫生方面的作用。
