Oral health‑related quality of life and its association with oral health literacy and dental caries experience among a group of pregnant women

Abstract

Background: Oral health plays an important role in the general health of pregnant women and
their newborns. Our aim was to assess oral health‑related quality of life and its association with
oral health literacy and dental caries among a group of Iranian pregnant women.
Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional study was conducted on 200 pregnant women attending
a governmental hospital in Isfahan, Iran, applying a convenient sampling method. Self‑administrated
questionnaires requested information about demographics, oral health‑related quality of life utilizing
Oral Health Impact Profile‑14 (OHIP‑14), and oral health literacy. A senior dental student conducted
a clinical examination to record dental caries with Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index.
Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Mann–Whitney U‑test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Spearman correlation
coefficient, and logistic regression model served for analysis (P < 0.05).
Results: The prevalence of oral health impacts on quality of life was 36%. In terms of the severity,
the mean score of OHIP‑14 was 13.2 ± 9.0 (range: 0–38). The mean score of oral health literacy was
9.7 ± 3.2 (range: 1–16). The mean DMFT was 9.8 ± 5.2. No significant relationship existed between
oral health‑related quality of life and oral health literacy (P = 0.347). A higher score of OHIP‑14
was revealed among participants with higher DMFT index (P = 0.003, r = 0.21). In multivariate
analysis, DMFT was independently associated with the likelihood of reporting one or more oral
health impacts on quality of life (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Higher caries experience was associated with poorer oral health‑related quality of
life among pregnant women. Thus, it is recommended to increase quality of life through preventive
measures to control the dental caries experience.
Key Words: Dental caries, health literacy, oral health, pregnancy, quality of life

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Hajar Shekarchizadeh: Pubmed,Google Scholar