Baby Smiles, protecting children's teeth begins in pregnancy: baseline data

Objectives: To describe baseline data from pregnant women enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing a two-part (prenatal and/or postnatal ) brief motivational intervention to increase utilization of preventive dental care among rural Oregon, low-income women and their children. Methods: Baseline data were collected during interviews with participants prior to the intervention. Questions regarding demographic information, readiness to visit a dentist, dental anxiety, oral health-quality of life, perceived stress, and prenatal depression were asked. In the study model, readiness to visit was the mediating variable and anxiety, quality of life, stress, and depression were the moderating variables. Descriptive statistics (frequency, mean) were used to summarize results. Results: Four hundred pregnant women across four rural counties in Oregon were enrolled. Participants' mean age was 24 (range: 15 to 43 years). Approximately 80% self-identified as White, 60% had a high school diploma or less, 33% were married, and 52% had children with 31% having one previous child. A majority (60%) had not seen a dentist in more than one year. Reasons for the most recent dental visit were check-up and cleaning (46%) and treatment (30%). The mean for readiness to visit a dentist was 9 (scale: 0 (no thoughts) to 10 (taking action)). Participants had some dental anxiety (mean (SD) = 12.3 (5.1)), perceived stress (mean (SD) = 14.8 (7.0)), prenatal depression (mean (SD) = 14.7 (9.3)), and reported few difficulties with their teeth, mouth, and gums (mean (SD) = 10.7 (10.9)). Conclusions: In this ongoing RCT testing a brief motivational intervention on dental utilization, baseline data suggest that women are thinking about visiting a dentist although they have not gone to the dentist in over a year. Most participants have not had major difficulties with their teeth, and have relatively low levels of dental anxiety, stress, and depression.