Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Sep 18:11:E163.
doi: 10.5888/pcd11.140212.

Oral health conditions and dental visits among pregnant and nonpregnant women of childbearing age in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004

Alejandro Azofeifa  1 , Lorraine F Yeung  2 , C J Alverson  2 , Eugenio Beltrán-Aguilar  2
Affiliations

Oral health conditions and dental visits among pregnant and nonpregnant women of childbearing age in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004

Alejandro Azofeifa et al. Prev Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Oral diseases can be prevented or improved with regular dental visits. Our objective was to assess and compare national estimates on self-reported oral health conditions and dental visits among pregnant women and nonpregnant women of childbearing age by using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods: We analyzed self-reported oral health information on 897 pregnant women and 3,971 nonpregnant women of childbearing age (15-44 years) from NHANES 1999-2004. We used χ(2) and 2-sample t tests to assess statistical differences between groups stratified by age, race/ethnicity, poverty, and education. We applied the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Results: Our data show significant differences in self-reported oral health conditions and dental visits among women, regardless of pregnancy status, when stratified by selected sociodemographic characteristics. Significant differences were also found in self-reported oral health conditions and dental visits between pregnant and nonpregnant women, especially among young women, women from minority race/ethnicity groups, and women with less than high school education.

Conclusion: We found disparities in self-reported oral health conditions and use of dental services among women regardless of pregnancy status. Results highlight the need to improve dental service use among US women of childbearing age, especially young pregnant women, those who are non-Hispanic black or Mexican American, and those with low family income or low education level. Prenatal visits could be used as an opportunity to encourage pregnant women to seek preventive dental care during pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Silk H, Douglass AB, Douglass JM, Silk L. Oral health during pregnancy. Am Fam Physician 2008;77(8):1139–44. - PubMed
    1. Boggess KA, Edelstein BL. Oral health in women during preconception and pregnancy: implications for birth outcomes and infant oral health. Matern Child Health J 2006;10(5):S169–74. 10.1007/s10995-006-0095-x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boggess KA. Maternal oral health in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 2008;111(4):976–86. 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31816a49d3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al Habashneh R, Guthmiller JM, Levy S, Johnson GK, Squier C, Dawson DV, et al. Factors related to utilization of dental services during pregnancy. J Clin Periodontol 2005;32(7):815–21. 10.1111/j.1600-051X.2005.00739.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Han YW. Oral health and adverse pregnancy outcomes — what’s next? J Dent Res 2011;90 (3):289–93. 10.1177/0022034510381905 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
-