OBJECTIVE
Prenatal oral health has garnered growing attention due to its potential impact on maternal and fetal well-being. Thus, this study seeks to investigate gynecologists' perspectives and practices related to prenatal oral health care while concurrently examining the association between periodontal disease and adverse birth outcomes, shedding light on the comprehensive significance of oral health during pregnancy and its potential implications for maternal-fetal health.
METHODOLOGY
A quantitative cross-sectional study based on questionnaire was performed targeting consultant gynecologists in all district hospitals of city Karachi. The responses were computed by SPSS. Descriptive statistics with frequencies were computed and Chi-square was used to find out the associations between different variables.
RESULTS
Half of the gynecologists (55%) reported that they never asked nor documented their patient's last dental visit before commencing prenatal care. About 38% stated that they sometimes referred their patients to dental practitioners. The majority of gynecologists (83%) believed that dental screening for pregnant patients should be conducted. Approximately 27% of the gynecologists admitted to not knowing the association between periodontal diseases and adverse birth outcomes, and 91% expressed interest in organizing awareness sessions to educate people about the consequences of poor oral health during pregnancy. Statistically significant associations were observed between work experience and knowledge about gingivitis in pregnancy (p-value 0.012) as well as periodontitis with adverse birth outcomes (p-value 0.019).
CONCLUSION
Health professionals appeared to lack caution when it came to the oral health of their patients, despite possessing a good understanding of the oral-systemic connection during pregnancy. The practices of gynecologists concerning oral health care were found to be suboptimal. Despite having sufficient knowledge about the adverse outcomes associated with periodontal diseases, clinicians often failed to integrate oral health guidelines into their clinical practices. Prenatal care providers should consider developing interprofessional relationships and promptly referring their patients for dental assessments.
Key words: Prenatal care, Oral Health in Pregnancy, Periodontal diseases, Adverse outcomes of pregnancy, Awareness about oral health
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