OHQoL Among Pregnant Women With Access to Dental Services

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health related quality of life (OHQoL) during pregnancy among pregnant women attending a clinic with a dental care referral system.
Methods: A total 291 women completed a written questionnaire which included demographics, the OHIP14, questions about oral health knowledge, dental care referral and dental care utilization, and self-reported oral symptoms during pregnancy.
Results: The mean age of the women was 26.5± 5.1 years, and most were non-White (Hispanics=38.9%, AA=29.5%, Asians=12.8%). Only a minority had not completed high school (HS Grad= 17.9%). Family income was low (≤$ 40,000= 83.3%). The majority of respondents were married (77.6%) and about half (51.4%) were primiparous. OHIP-14 scores were positively skewed (mean OHIP14=2.36, sd=3.49; median OHIP14=1). The Cronbach-α was good (0.85). Total OHIP14 score was related to age (r=0.128, p<0.05, Spearman’s correlation) to number of pregnancies (r=0.203, p<0.01, Spearman’s correlation), and to the following oral symptoms during pregnancy (Mann-Whitney U-test): bleeding gums (p<0.01), swollen gums (p<0.01), pain (p<0.01), cavity/hole in tooth (p<0.01), loose tooth (p<0.05), and to self-reported oral health status (Kruskal-Wallis Test, p<0.01). OHIP14 scores were not related to dental care referral or to use of dental services.
Conclusions: We found that OHQoL, as measured by OHIP14, was unrelated to dental care referral or the utilization of dental services during pregnancy in this group of pregnant women.