Aspects related to the number of dental appointments attended by pregnant women in Santander

Abstract

Introduction: Oral health goes beyond only dental care. When a pregnant woman presents with oral pathologies, taking care of these conditions is necessary to avoid complications for the woman and her baby. Objective: To describe the number of dental appointments attended by pregnant women in Santander according to social, demographic factors and oral pathologies. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional observational study involving 8695 pregnant women. A relationship was established between the number of dental consultations attended by pregnant women and demographic variables such as the type of oral pathologies, municipality, place of residence and registration to the health care system. Student t test, Wilcoxon rank test, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied based on the distribution of the data and considering a level of significance of α≤0.01. Results: A low average of dental care consultation was found in pregnant women under the age of 20 and over 40, in women who reside in rural areas of low-income municipalities, and in those assisted by or related to the subsidized scheme. Conclusion: The number of dental appointments attended by pregnant women may be influenced by the pathologies that affect women and by social and demographic factors.

Keywords

• Mujeres embarazadas
• Odontología
• Prestación de atención de salud