*Magdalena Mikołajewicz1, Maria Januszek1, Beata Wnuk1, Aleksandra Orlańska1, Andrzej Miskiewicz2, Maciej R. Czerniuk2
Level of awareness of women aged 20-40 about diseases of the oral mucosa and periodontium before and during pregnancy
Poziom świadomości kobiet w wieku 20-40 lat na temat chorób błony śluzowej jamy ustnej i przyzębia przed ciążą i w jej trakcie
1Student Scientific Club of Periodontology, Department of Mucosal and Periodontal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Head of Scientific Club: Andrzej Miskiewicz, MD, PhD
1Studenckie Koło Naukowe Periodontologii przy Zakładzie Chorób Błony Śluzowej i Przyzębia, Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Polska
Opiekun Koła Naukowego: dr n. med. Andrzej Miskiewicz
2Department of Mucosal and Periodontal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Head of Department: Maciej R. Czerniuk, MD, PhD
2Zakład Chorób Błon Śluzowych i Przyzębia, Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Polska
Kierownik Zakładu: dr hab. n. med. Maciej R. Czerniuk
Streszczenie
Wstęp. Stan zdrowia jamy ustnej kobiet przed ciążą i w jej trakcie nierozerwalnie wiąże się ze zdrowiem rozwijającego się dziecka oraz przebiegiem ciąży. Definicja zdrowia według WHO to „całkowity fizyczny, psychiczny i społeczny dobrostan człowieka, a nie tylko brak choroby lub niepełnosprawności”, z czym wiąże się konieczność profilaktyki.
Cel pracy. Badanie świadomości kobiet przed ciążą i w jej trakcie w zakresie profilaktyki chorób błony śluzowej jamy ustnej i przyzębia na podstawie badania ankietowego.
Materiał i metody. Badanie przeprowadzono metodą CAWI w formie ankiety elektronicznej. Wzięło w nim udział 115 kobiet w wieku 20-40 lat. Respondentki odpowiadały na pytania jedno- i wielokrotnego wyboru dotyczące źródeł informacji o profilaktyce chorób jamy ustnej, metod higieny jamy ustnej oraz ogólnej świadomości dotyczącej chorób błony śluzowej.
Wyniki. Poziom świadomości w zakresie profilaktyki chorób przyzębia był stosunkowo niski – średnia w całej grupie wyniosła zaledwie 53,79% poprawnych odpowiedzi (SD = 26,85). Maksymalną liczbę punktów uzyskało jedynie 7 respondentek. Poziom świadomości był istotnie niższy u respondentek, które wiedzę na temat profilaktyki jamy ustnej najpewniej pozyskiwały z Internetu lub od rodziny/znajomych w porównaniu z tymi, których źródłem wiedzy byli dentyści, ginekolodzy lub sięgały one do publikacji naukowych.
Wnioski. Wiedza kobiet na temat profilaktyki stomatologicznej w okresie ciąży jest niestety na niezadowalającym poziomie, pomimo szerokiego dostępu do informacji na ten temat.
Summary
Introduction. Women’s health before and throughout the pregnancy affects both the pregnancy course and health of the developing child itself. The definition of health according to WHO is “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. To maintain good health, preventive measures are needed.
Aim of the study. This paper examined women’s awareness regarding the prophylaxis of periodontal diseases before and during pregnancy based on a survey.
Material and methods. An electronic survey of single and multiple-choice closed questions (CAWI method) was filled by 115 women between 20 and 40 years of age. Respondents indicated their preferred source of information on prevention of oral diseases, methods of oral hygiene and their overall knowledge on oral mucosa and periodontium diseases.
Results. The awareness level regarding the prevention of periodontal diseases was relatively low – the average of total correct answers was only 53.79% (SD = 26.85). Only 7 out of 115 respondents obtained the maximum score. The level of awareness was significantly lower among respondents who indicated that they would mostly likely obtain their knowledge about oral diseases prevention from the Internet or family/friends compared to those who obtain it from dentists, gynecologists or scientific publications.
Conclusions. Unfortunately, women’s knowledge about dental prophylaxis during pregnancy is not satisfactory, despite having wide access to information on this subject.
Introduction
Women’s knowledge on the prevention of oral mucosa and periodontium diseases before and during pregnancy is of great importance for the health of both the woman and the developing child (1, 2). The definition of health according to WHO is “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (3). Research has shown that pregnancy is also a critical time for a child’s future oral health, including prevention of early childhood caries (4). Pregnancy is also correlated with increased markers for periodontal diseases in screening tests and, consequently, an increased risk of mucosal and periodontal diseases (5).
Unfortunately, most often pregnant patients do not visit the dentist during the course of the pregnancy, and if they do, it is mainly due to a toothache (6).
Dentists are obligated to inform a pregnant patient about the principles of oral diseases prevention and the connection between oral cavity health and overall well-being (7). As well as patient’s doubts and any misinformation resulting in fear of going to the dentist should be dispelled. Systemic educational efforts to reduce the frequency of disease occurence can be better tailored by examining women’s awareness of mucosal and periodontal disease prophylaxis. This was the primary reason for this study.
Aim of study
This research aims to examine and highlight correlations between oral disease knowledge, especially focusing on periodontal diseases, with participant’s age, number of pregnancies and their knowledge sources based on a survey.
Material and methods
A questionnaire consisting of twelve single-choice closed questions and one multiple-choice closed question was prepared. The first three questions focused on necessary demographic data and remaining questions gathered information on the respondent’s (who were before and during pregnancy) awareness of the oral mucosa and periodontium diseases. Questions were prepared and vetted according to current medical knowledge.
The survey was held online via Microsoft Office Forms (Microsoft, Redmond, US) (CAWI method) and all answers from 115 participants were anonymous and collected after having obtained participation consent.
Study received ethics approval from the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of Warsaw (AKBE/238/2023).
Gathered data was analyzed statistically using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, χ2 test and Fisher’s exact test were performed.
The significance level was set at a standard threshold of α = 0.05. Additionally, results within the range of 0.05 < p < 0.1 were interpreted as trending towards significance.
Results
Our survey verified respondents’ knowledge about the impact of oral health on the well-being of the fetus, delivery date, birth weight and, ultimately, the oral health of the child itself. 115 women aged 20-40 participated. Of the 115 women:
• 59 (ca 51.3%) were aged 20-25,
• 36 (ca 31.3%) were aged 26-30,
• 8 (ca 7%) were aged 31-35,
• 12 (ca 10.4%) aged 36-40.
Awareness level about prophylaxis of periodontal disease was relatively low. The average value in the entire group was only 53.79% (SD = 26.85).
Awareness level of pregnant women at the time of the study
In the first place, it was examined whether pregnant women had different attitudes and levels of awareness about the prevention of periodontal diseases in comparison to non-pregnant women.
Firstly, sources of knowledge most commonly used by the respondents were established (tab. 1). There was no statistically significant difference between the compared groups, as indicated by the statistically insignificant result of Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.516. The most common source of knowledge was the dentist (71%), followed by internet forums (13%).
Tab. 1. Sources of knowledge on preventive oral care among pregnant women
| | Currently pregnant |
| No | Yes |
| Internet forums | N | 14 | 1 |
| % | 13.00% | 14.30% |
| Dentist | N | 77 | 5 |
| % | 71.30% | 71.40% |
| Gynaecologist | N | 4 | 0 |
| % | 3.70% | 0.00% |
| Medical publications | N | 10 | 0 |
| % | 9.30% | 0.00% |
| Friends, family | N | 3 | 1 |
| % | 2.80% | 14.30% |
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