Abstract

ABSTRACT
Aim: Changes that occur during pregnancy create a favorable environment to deteriorate oral and dental health. The purpose of this study was to determine the inpatient postpartum women’s status of oral hygiene habits and visit to the dentist during their most recent pregnancy as descriptive.
Method: This study carried out between September 1 2011 and 31 December 2011 among 320 women who accepted to participate in the study and who were admitted to inpatient postpartum clinic of 75. year Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital using face to face interviews. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers to collect data. Percentages and chi-square was used to analyze the data.
Results: The average age of the women was 24.91 ± 5.51 (min = 16, max = 45), over half of the population studied had elementary education 180 (56.3%), 79.1% reported receiving antenatal, 7.5% stated smoking during their most recent pregnancy. 45.6% women think the teeth are affected by pregnancy, 39.1% stated that they did not have a regular brush of their teeth, 28.4% stated that they brush their teeth more than once a day, only 4.4% reported using something other than a brush to clean their teeth. 32.8% of the participants' had problems with their gums, 0.6% women had stated going to dentist regularly, 5.9% had visited their dentist when pregnant, the main reason for visiting the dentist was tooth ache. This study determined the age as a factor affecting the habit of tooth brushing (p < 0.05, x2 = 61.79). Women who brush their teeth regularly were found to be higher among women aged 21-29. In this study, age (p> 0.05, x2 = 4.06) and ducation had no effect on the status of dentist visit (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: In this study, the oral hygiene behaviors of women during pregnancy and dental visit were found to be inadequate. Therefore, all pregnant women should be assessed by health care professionals who care pregnant women about oral hygiene and dental health, women who have poor oral hygiene should be referred to dentist and recommended to provide health education for the protection of dental heatlh.

Key words: Key Words: Habits, Oral Health, Dental Visit, Pregnancy, Dentist

Article Language: Turkish English