Oral health inequalities among pregnant Polish women

Objectives: To investigate inequalities in oral health among pregnant women from different regions of Poland. Methods: The study included 1398 pregnant women, aged 15-44, selected by stratified sampling procedures at women’s clinics and maternity wards in 8 regions of Poland. Dental and periodontal examinations were performed by trained epidemiologists using a mirror and WHO probe, and findings recorded acc. WHO diagnostic criteria. Results: Only 39.1% of women had a full natural dentition, with large differences between regions (21.9%-50%), and between urban and rural areas. Mean DMFT was 12.9, varying from 9.5-16.5 between regions, and was similar in urban and rural areas. FT component was higher in urban (8.6) than rural (7.3) areas, whereas DT and MT were both higher in rural (3.1 and 2.5, respectively) than urban (2.1 and 2.2, respectively) localities. When individuals with the highest caries scores were considered, SiC was 19.39. Only 15.2% of women required no dental treatment, with a higher proportion in urban (15.8%) than rural (14.5%) areas, and large differences between regions (6.1%-41.2%). Nearly twice as many women from rural (15.7%) than from urban (8.5%) areas needed 7 carious teeth treated. Likewise, more women from rural than urban areas required endodontic treatment (13.4% vs 5.5%) and extractions (20.4% vs 15.5%). Wide regional variations were seen in periodontal health, with 17.9%-81.1% having gingivitis, 0.0%-42.2% having periodontitis and 0.0%-6.5% requiring complex periodontal treatment. Conclusions: Poor oral health was found in a substantial proportion of pregnant women, with significant inequalities observed in different regions of the country.