Abstract
BackgroundInformation on the socio-behavioral distribution of periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnancy emanating from sub Saharan Africa is sparse. This study examined periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnant Ugandan women and assessed the relationship with socio-demographics factors, parity, dental care and oral hygiene.MethodsMothers were participants of a multicentre cluster-randomized behavioral intervention study (PROMISE-EBF Safety and Efficacy of Exclusive Breast feeding Promotion in the Era of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa). In Uganda, these were pregnant women resident in Mbale district, recruited into the PROMISE EBF study between January 2006 and June 2008. A total of 886 women were eligible to participate of whom information became available for 877 (participation rate 98.9%, mean age 25.6) women who participated in the recruitment interview and 713 (mean age 25.5) women who got a clinical oral examination. Periodontal status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN).ResultsThe prevalence of tooth loss was 35.7%, 0.6% presented with pockets shallow pockets (4–5 mm), whereas 3.3% and 63.4% displayed bleeding and calculus, respectively. A total of 32.7% were without any sign of periodontal disease. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that older women, women from larger households and those presenting with microbial plaque were respectively, 3.4, 1.4 and 2.5 times more likely to have CPI score >0. Rural (OR = 0.9), nulliparous (OR = 0.4) and women who never visited a dentist (OR = 0.04) were less likely, whereas women from larger households (OR = 1.5) were more likely to have lost at least one tooth.ConclusionThe results revealed moderate prevalence of bleeding and tooth loss, high prevalence of calculus, low frequency of pockets 4–5 mm. Disparity in pregnant women's oral health related to parity suggests that education of maternity care providers concerning oral health in pregnancy is warranted.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00397150
Highlights
Information on the socio-behavioral distribution of periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnancy emanating from sub Saharan Africa is sparse
Studies using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need (CPITN) have indicated that the prevalence of severe periodontal disease is low in sub-Saharan Africa [13]
The present study aimed to examine the relationship of periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnant Ugandan women with parity, socio-economic factors, gestational age, dental care utilization and oral hygiene behavior
Summary
Information on the socio-behavioral distribution of periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnancy emanating from sub Saharan Africa is sparse. Exposure to risk factors, such as age, low socio-economic status, poor education, HIV infection, low dental care utilization, poor oral hygiene level, smoking, parity (i.e. number of children borne) and psycho social stress tend to concentrate in certain populations. These factors are more, or as important, as race and ethnicity [5,6,7,8]. Across East African countries women are more likely than men to experience tooth loss, a recent survey of Tanzanian older adults revealed that females were more likely than males to have tooth loss due to caries whereas men were most likely to have tooth loss due to reasons other than caries [1,10]
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