Oral Health Promotion for Pregnant Women in Hong Kong

Objectives: To measure and compare the improvement in oral hygiene status and practices between two groups of pregnant women enrolled in a randomized controlled trial on oral health promotion.
Methods: First-time pregnant women (<20^th gestational week) were recruited at public hospitals and maternal and child health centers in Hong Kong. The participants were randomly allocated to one of the two study groups. Participants in Group 1 (control) received pamphlets on adults’ and pregnant women’s oral health care while participants in Group 2 (intervention) received pamphlets plus individualized personal oral health education. Dental examinations were conducted to detect presence of visible plaque and bleeding on probing. Information about their oral hygiene practices was collected through questionnaire at baseline and a first follow-up after 30^th gestational week.
Results: To date, 213 pregnant women (control group: 100; intervention group: 113; mean age=31.4 years; mean gestational week=14.3) participated in the study had completed their first follow-up (mean gestation week=34.1). The percentage of sites with visible plaque at follow-up decreased significantly from baseline in both groups (control group: from 21.0% to 16.0%, p<0.001; intervention group: from 20.8% to 13.9%, p<0.001). There was also a reduction in the percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (control group: from 61.7% to 47.0%, p<0.001; intervention group: from 62.5% to 46.8%, p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the amount of reduction between the two groups. There was no significant changes in the participants’ toothbrushing frequency (83.1% brushed twice or more daily) but a significantly higher proportion of the participants used additional dental cleaning aids at follow-up compared with baseline (77% vs. 67%, p<0.001).
Conclusions: Improvements in oral hygiene status and practices among the study pregnant women were found. However, the provision of individualized oral health education did not lead to any additional improvements at the first follow-up.

(This research is supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR, China; Project No. HKU782213M)