Pregnant Women Don't Get Needed Dental Care

July 31, 2001 By Nancy Volkers InteliHealth News Service Most pregnant women don't visit the dentist for any reason and about half of pregnant women who experience dental problems don't receive care for them, according to a recent study. The results indicate the need for discussion on the issue of pregnant women and dental care, said Mary Lyn Gaffield, Ph.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the lead author of the study, was published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. "We're hopeful that obstetricians and dentists can come together to formulate some guidelines on how to deal with oral health during pregnancy," she said. "There is a substantial proportion of women that, for a variety of reasons, does not seek dental care." No formal guidelines on dental care exist for pregnant women, although the American Dental Association suggests they avoid elective (non-emergency) dental care during the first trimester and the last half of the third trimester. Gaffield and her colleagues examined 1997 and 1998 information from surveys of pregnancy women in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana and New Mexico. The surveys in all four states asked pregnant women if they visited the dentist during pregnancy, and all surveys, but the one in Arkansas, also asked if women experienced dental problems during pregnancy and whether they sought care for them. Only 35 percent of pregnant women visited the dentist during their pregnancy. "Because most adults would be due for a routine dental visit during any nine-month period ... our findings raise serious concerns," the authors wrote. Researchers couldn't tell whether the women rarely or never visited the dentist anyway, or if they normally visited the dentist, but avoided it during pregnancy. A future study, based on information collected last year, will help answer this question, said Gaffield. Among women who reported having a dental problem while pregnant, 55 percent of those in New Mexico, 46 percent in Louisiana and 45 percent in Illinois did not visit the dentist for care. The researchers found that certain groups of women were less likely to visit the dentist for a problem. They include: Women on Medicaid, rather than private insurance Women who started getting prenatal care after the first trimester Women with annual incomes less than $35,000 Women who had not intended to get pregnant Women less than 30 years old Women with low birthweight babies (less than 2,500 g) Women who gave birth before 38 weeks' gestation The study's conclusions have important implications because pregnant women have special oral health concerns. Evidence is mounting that periodontal disease increases the risk of giving birth prematurely. A recent study found that women with periodontal disease had seven times the risk of premature birth compared with women who did not have the disease. In addition, pregnant women often experience gingivitis during pregnancy, and 5 to 10 percent develop pyogenic granuloma (pregnancy tumor), a harmless, but often uncomfortable, growth on the gum. Said Gaffield, "We're hopeful that this (study) will generate a discussion and that more attention will be given" to the oral health of pregnant women.

PREVIOUS

NEWS-LINKS MAIN PAGE

WEBSITE HOME

NEXT