Abstract

Reports have associated the occurrence of periodontal diseases, of which gingivitis is the earliest and commonest form in pregnancy with an increased risk for poor pregnancy outcome. There is dearth of information on the oral status of pregnant women in Nigeria. This study assessed self reported adverse gingival changes and its relationship with observed gingival health status among pregnant women in a South-Western Nigerian locality. Responses about self observed gingival status were obtained from 405 pregnant women attending two primary health care antenatal clinics from a local government area within a municipality in South-Western Nigeria. In addition to demographic data, pregnancy and social history, oral hygiene practice and history of professional dental care were obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire. An intra-oral examination was also performed on each woman and data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17. The mean age was 25.35 (±5.02) years. Married women accounted for 96.8% of the study population. None of the women reported having ever smoked, while 23.5% of them reported taking alcohol in the form of local herbal preparations both before and during the course of their pregnancy. Older women were more likely to report adverse gingival changes in pregnancy. The association between reported adverse gingival changes and observed severity of gingivitis was significant (P < 0.05). Those who had visited a professional dental care giver were more likely to report adverse gingival changes. Women who chewed kolanuts or bitter kola were also more likely to report adverse gingival changes. This study highlights the low awareness of pregnant Nigerian women about their gingival health status and exposes the need to explore the effect of locally available stimulant nuts on gingival health.

Key words: Self-report, gingivitis, oral hygiene, pregnancy, Nigeria.