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Introduction: Pregnancy is a natural process that may create some changes in different parts of the body including the oral cavity. These changes will lead to oral diseases if enough and timely care of oral cavity is not taken. Women may experience increased gingivitis or pregnancy gingivitis beginning in the second or third month of pregnancy that increases in severity throughout the duration of pregnancy. To motivate the patient toward oral health and implement the needed prophylactic measures, a longitudinal study was planned to observe the effect of oral health education during pregnancy on knowledge, attitude, practice, oral health status, and treatment needs (TNs) of pregnant women belonging to different socioeconomic groups., Materials and Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted among 112 pregnant women belonging to different socioeconomic groups to assess the effect of oral health education on knowledge, attitude, practice, oral health status, and TNs. The demographic details, knowledge, attitude, and practice of pregnant women, and oral health status were collected through a predesigned questionnaire by a principal investigator through an interview. Oral health examination was carried out to assess oral health status using revised World Health Organization Proforma 1997, and oral health education was given through PowerPoint presentation to the participants in local language, i.e., Marathi, after collecting the baseline data. Reinforcement of oral health education and blanket referral was done at 14th week, and follow-up data were collected at 28th week of gestation. The demographic details, such as age, sex, education, occupation, income, and the questions based on knowledge, attitude, and practice among participants were analyzed using number, percentage, and mean., Results: At baseline, knowledge was limited, attitude was positive, while the practice was poor regarding oral health care during pregnancy in pregnant women belonging to different socioeconomic groups. After oral health education and blanket referral, at 28th week of gestation, knowledge regarding oral health care improved drastically, attitude toward oral health became more positive, whereas practice did not change much among all the pregnant women belonging to different socioeconomic groups, probably indicating sociocultural influences., Conclusion: Intensive oral health education during pregnancy leads to drastic improvement in knowledge and attitude. Practice, gingival health, and the number of filled teeth also improved to some extent., Clinical Significance: Regular oral health education programs should be conducted at community level among pregnant woman to reduce the burden of oral diseases.

Introduction: Mishri is one of the form of smokeless tobacco, which is a roasted, powdered preparation made by baking tobacco on a hot metal plate until it is uniformly black, after which it is powdered. It is noted that mishri use is more commonly used by the women of low socioeconomic status, hence the need was felt to conduct this study among women mishri users of slums. Also, the consequences of mishri use are little known, hence an effort is made to find out its ill-effect on oral health., Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among women using mishri regarding its effects on their oral and general health., Materials and Methods: A 6-month KAP study was conducted among 100 women who were using mishri. Snowball sampling was used. Oral examination of the participants was also done for oral potentially malignant disorders, such as leukoplakia, erythroplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, and hyperkeratinized pouch., Results: About 61% of the population used mishri for cleaning the teeth and others used it as quid; 0.85% of the total participants knew that the use of mishri may lead to precancerous lesions/conditions. Only 17% knew that mishri use can cause gum disease; 84% of the population was willing to quit the habit of using mishri., Conclusion: It is concluded that all the participants had poor knowledge. Attitude toward quitting mishri use was found to be good. About 4% of the participants reported about quitting the habit., Clinical Significance: There is need to create awareness regarding harmful effects of mishri usage in this particular area to improve oral health status.

Objectives Hormonal changes during pregnancy may act as a modifying factor in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, which is reported as a potential risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study was conducted to investigate the level of periodontal disease in pregnant women and identify the associated risk factors in a population of pregnant women in Kashan, Iran. Methods A total of 128 pregnant women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were recruited. Demographic data, oral health behaviors, and socioeconomic status (SES) were determined using a standard questionnaire. The periodontal status was evaluated using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Results The mean age of the participants was 24.35±3.4. More than half of them (53.1%) were in the second trimester of pregnancy. A quarter of pregnant women had visited a dentist within the past year, of which more than 74% visited the dentist for pain or treatment. Approximately half of the participants (50.8%) brushed their teeth daily, but only 10% had a daily flossing habit. Periodontal screening was typically done using the CPI. Calculus had the highest score (49.2%) prevailing among the subjects, while the prevalence of periodontitis (pocket depth >= 3) was 35.2%. Pocket depth >= 3mm was less frequent in women with academic education, good SES, those without a history of pain, those who brushed their teeth twice a day or more, and those who visited the dentist (P < 0.05). Conclusion The findings of the present study showed that poor perceived oral health, a history of toothache, no daily use of toothbrushes and dental floss, low education level, and poor SES were associated with periodontal disease in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze, through a systematic review, the effectiveness of educational tools (ETs) in Oral Health Programs (OHPs) for pregnant women in improving their oral status and that of their babies., Method: Searches were carried out in 5 electronic databases. Randomized (RCTs) and non-randomized clinical trials (CTs) were selected that included pregnant women exposed or not to ETs in OHPs, whose oral health status, in the pre- or postnatal period, or of their babies were verified. The types of ETs, outcomes, and results were extracted. Bias risk was assessed by ROBINS-I and RoB 2.0; and the certainty of the evidence (CE) by GRADE., Results: A total of nine studies were included. Most used more than one ET (n = 8), with verbal guidance used in all (n = 9). Mothers showed a reduction in biofilm (n = 3), caries (n = 4) and periodontitis (n = 4). All studies with babies (n = 3) were successful in preventing caries. RCTs (n = 3) were classified as low risk of bias (n = 1), with concerns (n = 1) and high risk of bias (n = 1). CTs (n = 6) presented risk of bias as low (n = 2), serious (n = 1) and critical (n = 3). Studies about caries in babies showed high CE, and those who evaluated caries and periodontal parameters/biofilm in the mother had moderate and low CE, respectively., Conclusion: ETs as a strategy of OHPs for pregnant women can be effective in preventing caries in themselves and in their babies. However, despite the improvement of the mothers' oral hygiene and gingival condition, the CE was low considering this parameter., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to British Dental Association.)

Background: Pregnant women are vulnerable to oral disease due to physiological, hormonal, and dietary alterations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the educational program according to the Health Promotion Model (HPM) on the oral health prevention behavior of pregnant women. Study Design: A randomized controlled trial. Methods: This study was performed on 105 pregnant women visiting health centers located in Arak from February to November 2022. The subjects were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 54) and control (n = 51) groups. A reliable and valid questionnaire according to HPM constructs was used to collect the data. The pre-test was conducted in the groups. The intervention group received the educational program in 9 educational sessions (from 12 to 24 weeks of pregnancy). Then, the post-test was conducted in the 36th week of pregnancy in the groups. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 18) and using independent t-test, paired t-test, and Chi-square test. Results: There were statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups regarding perceived benefits (24.68 ± 3.63 vs. 26.57 ± 3.67, P = 0.009), perceived barriers (7.31 ± 3.14 vs. 5.81 ± 3.59, P = 0.025), positive affect (10.50 ± 1.66 vs. 11.29 ± 1.34, P = 0.009), negative affect (1.59 ± 0.223 vs. 1.40 ± 1.51, P = 0.006), commitment to the action plan (4.05 ± 1.92 vs. 4.77 ± 1.50, P = 0.034), and tooth brushing time (2.29 ± 0.72 vs. 2.74 ± 0.48, P < 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed regarding the tooth brushing frequency (2.05 ± 0.58 vs. 2.07 ± 0.66, P = 0.901) after the intervention. The brushing time for 2-3 minutes in the intervention group increased from 51.85% to 75.92% after the intervention. Conclusion: HPM-based education was effective in promoting the duration of tooth brushing in pregnant women. However, it had no effect on the tooth brushing frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives: To study the prevalence of myths regarding oral health care in pregnant women in North Indian population. Methods: This cross‐sectional study used a self‐administered closed‐ended questionnaire to assess oral healthcare related beliefs and practices in 400 pregnant women who reported for prenatal checkup in a tertiary healthcare centre in North India. The questionnaire included questions to elicit information on socio‐demographic factors, beliefs and practices of oral hygiene during pregnancy, attitude towards dental problems occurring during pregnancy and the reasons associated with a specific belief. Prevalence of various myths was observed, and its associations with various socio‐demographic factors, adverse pregnancy outcomes and dental symptoms were analysed. Results: 84.2% of the respondents harboured at least one oral healthcare related myth. 63.4% of respondents deferred brushing for many days after delivery. 36.6% of respondents avoided consumption of hot/cold food and drinks during pregnancy due to fear of tooth loss. 24.5% of respondents believed local anaesthesia could affect baby's developing organs, and 21.8% of the studied population believed tooth extraction might cause miscarriage. Females possessing more myths were more likely to experience severe oral health problems during pregnancy. Education was depicted as a significant negative predictor of the prevalence of myths. No significant correlation between myths prevalence and history of adverse pregnancy outcomes was found. Conclusion: Neglect of oral health due to myths about oral hygiene practices and dental treatment during pregnancy is a serious concern. A very high prevalence of these myths is an obstacle to goal of optimal maternal and child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral health problems are common among pregnant women. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) as a behavior‐change technique to enhance self‐efficacy and oral health among pregnant women. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 112 pregnant Iranian women. Women in the intervention group received an education program on oral health using MI during two face‐to‐face sessions, along with routine health education (two 1‐h lectures on oral health changes and needs during pregnancy presented as a lecture by an oral health technician over a 2‐wk period). Those in the control group received two 1‐h lectures on oral health changes and needs during pregnancy. Oral health behaviors, oral health self‐efficacy, and general self‐efficacy, were assessed, along with gingival and dental health from baseline to the 3‐month follow‐up. Analysis of covariance was used to determine differences between intervention and control groups. Scores for both general and specific self‐efficacy and for healthy behaviors increased in the intervention group, whereas there was no significant change within controls from baseline to follow‐up. Between‐group analyses also indicated a significant difference in the scores for self‐efficacy and behavior favoring the intervention group. Scores on the gingival inflammation index decreased, as did the number of decayed teeth in the intervention group relative to the control group. The number of filled teeth increased significantly in the intervention group. Health education interventions using MI techniques may help to improve oral health‐related self‐efficacy and behaviors among pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-step indirect competitive enzyme immunoassay of DDT has been developed. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.3 nmol l -1 and 4.2 nmol l -1 , respectively. To shorten the analysis time, the one-step enzyme immunoassay has been developed by replacing anti-DDT antibody with the complex anti-DDT antibody-HRP. The anti-DDT antibody-HRP conjugate was prepared by periodate method. A concentration of the preparation was 1.9 mg·ml -1 and molar ratio Px/IgG was 1.87. The detection limit of the one-step ELISA reached 0.3 nmol l -1 , but the sensitivity of assay was very poor. The two-step enzyme immunoassay of DDT has been adapted for the chemiluminescent detection of the complex antigen-antibody. The detectability of chemiluminescent ELISA was comparable with that of chromogenic ELISA. A limited number of the artificially contamined samples have been tested. All samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction by using the commercial Agilent Zorbax SPE C 18 columns. A background was observed in most tested samples. The recoveries obtained from the analysis of DDT spikes reached values between 89.0-161.0%, and 81.5-111.6% at standard addition 50 μg·kg -1 , and 200 μg·kg -1 , respectively. The overestimated amounts of DDT were determined in spinach and nectarines at standard addition 50 μg·kg -1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]