Misconceptions Regarding Essential Oral Health Care Amongst Pregnant Women Visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in the State of Goa, India: A Descriptive Study.

Background of the study: Myths regarding oral health are extensively prevalent and have considerable impact on pregnant women's dental behaviour and practices. Thus, this study sought to understand misconceptions (pregnancy and early childhood oral care) and their determinants amongst pregnant women.

Methods: A questionnaire designed to assess the participants' demographics, parity, oral health behaviour and misconceptions was administered to 305 pregnant women attending antenatal care. Oral health (DMFT, bleeding on probing and periodontal pocket) was examined. Independent t test, analysis of variance and linear regression were used for statistical computations.

Results: Early childhood myths (5.54 ± 1.87) were more prevalent amongst the study population than pregnancy-related myths (3.28 ± 1.89). Bivariate analysis exhibited that myths were significantly more prevalent in mothers who were ≤ 30 years of age (8.79 ± 2.565), primi parous (8.90 ± 2.141), illiterate (9.07 ± 2.764) and who had never visited a dentist (8.46 ± 2.016). Both pregnancy and early childhood myth scores were positively correlated to DMFT (p = 0.00; p = 0.031). Educational status and age were significant negative predictors of myths with p values of 0.00 and 0.34, respectively. Parity emerged as the only significant positive predictor (p = 0.002).

Conclusion: The high prevalence of myths in the present study advocates that standardized, culturally appropriate and simple educational messages need to be developed and delivered to break these misconceptions. Minimum one visit to a dental surgeon during second trimester should be advocated and encouraged for all pregnant women.