Unfavourable beliefs about oral health and safety of dental care during pregnancy: a systematic review

Yasaman Mohammadi Kamalabadi; M Karen Campbell; Natalie M Zitoun; Abbas Jessani

doi:10.1186/s12903-023-03439-4

Unfavourable beliefs about oral health and safety of dental care during pregnancy: a systematic review

BMC Oral Health. 2023 Oct 15;23(1):762. doi: 10.1186/s12903-023-03439-4.

Authors

Yasaman Mohammadi Kamalabadi¹, M Karen Campbell^{1

2

3

4}, Natalie M Zitoun¹, Abbas Jessani^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6G 2M1, Canada.
² Department of Pediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 800 Commissioners Rd. E., London, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 800 Commissioners Rd. E., London, ON, Canada.
⁴ Children's Health Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, 750 Base Line Rd. E., London, ON, N6C 2R5, Canada.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6G 2M1, Canada. abbas.jessani@schulich.uwo.ca.
⁶ Department of Dentistry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, Dental Sciences Building, London, ON, N6A 5C1, Canada. abbas.jessani@schulich.uwo.ca.

Abstract

Background: Oral conditions such as gingivitis and periodontitis are correlated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight. Oral health-related unfavourable beliefs can have negative influences on oral health behaviours including hesitation in accessing preventative dental treatments and dental service utilization. The objective of this systematic review was to examine unfavourable beliefs that expectant or new mothers frequently hold about oral health and the safety of dental care during pregnancy.

Methods: An electronic database search on PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and MEDLINE (Ovid) followed by forward and backward citation tracing of the included studies was conducted. All English primary studies regardless of the year of publication were independently screened by two reviewers to identify studies addressing unfavourable beliefs about oral health and dental care during pregnancy. The CLARITY tool was applied to assess the risk of bias in the included studies.

Results: Out of a total of 5766 records, 39 quantitative and six qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. The commonly held unfavourable beliefs were regarding the safety of dental services utilization and dental treatment procedures, the adverse impacts of pregnancy on oral health, and oral hygiene necessity during pregnancy. The most discussed unfavourable beliefs included "pregnant women lose their teeth because of pregnancy" (n = 18), "dental treatments are not safe and harm the fetus" (n = 17), and "the developing baby absorbs calcium from the mother's teeth" (n = 14).

Conclusions: Unfavourable beliefs about oral health and dental care utilization are common among pregnant women and new mothers. The literature suggests that a low level of oral health knowledge and seeking information from social networks can contribute to such beliefs. This has implications for health promotion.

Keywords: Beliefs; Dental service utilization; Oral health; Pregnancy.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Dental Care
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Oral Health*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnant Women
Premature Birth*