Oral health, Neglect And Its Effect On Adverse Birth Outcomes

“Objectives:”, The objective of this study was to assess the impact of oral health and dental neglect on pregnancy outcomes among a group of post partum south Indian women. “Materials and Methods:”, The study population consisted of 316 post partum women admitted in the post natal wards of a government (n=151) and private hospital (n=165) in Udupi district, Karnataka, India. The Indian translation of the Dental Neglect Scale (DNS) was administered to the patients through interview method. Oral health data in the form of probing depth, clinical loss of attachment, gingival index (GI) and DMFT index scores was recorded. Less than 37 weeks of gestation was considered as preterm (PT) and a birth weight of less than 2500 grams was considered as low birth weight (LBW).“Results:”, The mean DNS score was 13.4±3.6 and 12.3±3.4 for the PT and the non PT group; 13.9 ± 3.5 and 12.2±3.4 for the LBW and the non LBW group ;13.7±3.5 and 12.1±3.3 for the PT -or- LBW group and the normal group and 13.7±3.5 and 12.4±3.4 for the PT&LBW and the normal group respectively. All the differences were statistically significant. All the oral health variables were significantly positively correlated with the DNS scores .Probing depth, loss of attachment, and DMFT values were negatively correlated(Pearson) with weeks of gestation. Loss of attachment was negatively correlated with birth weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis with the outcome variables consisting of, 0: Normal, 1: Low Birth Weight, 2: Preterm Birth, 3: Both Preterm and Low birth weight showed ,educational status, DNS scores, LOA scores and DMFT values as significant predictors for adverse birth outcomes.“Conclusion:”, Dental neglect and poor oral status were important predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased oral health awareness and early preventive measures could help in decreasing adverse pregnancy outcomes.