Article ID: JJAM-2021-0032
Objective
Periodontal disease increases the risk of an adverse outcome of pregnancy including preterm birth and low birth weight, and it is very important to maintain the oral health of pregnant women. This study aimed to clarify the current state of oral hygiene behavior and subjective periodontal disease symptoms among pregnant women in the second trimester during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional quantitative descriptive study. We recruited pregnant women in their second trimester who are literate in Japanese and visited a prenatal clinic in a hospital between June 2020 and May 2021. Data were collected based on the online survey and medical record information. The survey included questions about the patient characteristics (age, a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), parity, history of smoking, educational level, an employment and a work from home in their second trimester, an annual income, and a family type), the number of meals per day, changes in oral care during the pandemic, the number of times they brushed their teeth per day, dental consultation, and subjective periodontal disease symptoms.
Results
A total of 113 responses were received. The percentage of pregnant women who were working was 77 (68.1%), of which 73 (94.8%) worked at an office. Moreover, 75 (66.3%) of pregnant women had four or more meals a day, and 38 (33.6%) had improved oral care practice than before the pandemic, of which 33 (86.8%) were noted to gargle with water or mouthwash after getting home, at work, or after brushing their teeth. The average number of teeth brushing per day was 2.9±0.8, but only 11 (9.7%) brushed their teeth after eating a snack. Furthermore, 64 (56.6%) had a dental examination by in their second trimester, of which 34 (53.1%) had subjective periodontal disease symptoms even after dental examination.
Conclusions
Given the prevalence and transmissibility of COVID-19, pregnant women who were in their second trimester performed oral care to prevent infection. On the other hand, it was also found that some of them did not brush their teeth after eating a snack. The fact that dental consultation rate remained high amid the COVID-19 pandemic leaves hope for the improvement of the consultation rate even after the resolution of the pandemic. Additionally, we suggested that regular dental examinations were important during pregnancy, since there were pregnant women who had subjective symptoms of periodontal disease even if they had undergone dental examination.
