A Study of Oral Health Knowledge for Pregnant Women

Abstract

PURPOSE: This paper examined the relationship between knowledge differences of maternal oral health and of relevant demographic variables. METHODS: Participants included 239 pregnant women who were recruited from Women's Hospital located in B city who agreed to participate in this study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis using the SPSS 21.0 program. RESULTS: Maternal knowledge of oral health was moderate level (10.22±2.36). Scores of maternal knowledge of oral health were different according to age, education, occupation, parity, and dental care experience in pregnancy. Level of oral healthcare knowledge was weakly related to age and education. CONCLUSION: Consequently, it is necessary to encourage pregnant women to take part in oral health education program during antenatal care.

Keywords

• oral health
• knowledge
• pregnant women