Knowledge of dental practitioners on the management of oral conditions in pregnancy in South Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Dental care is often avoided and misunderstood in pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of dentists on the provision of dental care during pregnancy. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study among 76 dental practitioners in two Tertiary Health Institutions in Nigeria. The study participants were approached at their duty posts and informed consent was obtained before administering the questionnaire. Data were collected using pretested self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20.0 (New York, United States). Results: Forty-seven (63.5%) of the participants were registrars, 48 (64.9%) were more than 35 years, and 40 (54.1%) had practiced for more than 5 years. Majority, 61 (82.4%) of the participants were willing to provide dental treatment during pregnancy. Registrars, 39 (64%) were significantly (P = 0.03) more likely to provide dental care during pregnancy than house officers. While 44 (59.5%) of dentists knew the best time to take dental radiograph was the second trimester of pregnancy, 48 (64.9%) knew dental radiographs could be taken in any trimester of pregnancy. Dentists who knew it was safe to use composite and amalgam during pregnancy and perform root canal treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy were 56 (75.6%), 59 (79.5%) and 13 (17.6%), respectively. Conclusion: Though the knowledge of the dentists on dental care during pregnancy was good, this need to be improved upon. Therefore, there is a need to develop guidelines and train dentists on dental care during pregnancy.