Oral-health knowledge of Ecuadorian pregnant women

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine the level of knowledge in oral health of pregnant women who come to the Comprehensive Medical Center and Geriatric Gerontium of the IESS in Azogues-Ecuador. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 109 pregnant women from the first to the third trimester of pregnancy. A questionnaire was used to collect data, which was validated in the study by Castro et al. in Peru. The first part of the questionnaire includes questions of socio-demographic order, such as the trimester of pregnancy, level of education, urban or rural origin, and age. The second part includes 22 questions to assess the level of knowledge in various topics in oral health, such as preventive measures, understanding of oral diseases, dental care, and dental development. The responses to the second part were evaluated according to a numerical scale: 0 to 6 points were bad, 7 to 14 points were regular, and 15 to 22 points were good. The statistical analysis consisted of absolute and relative frequencies of the qualitative variables. A bivariate analysis was performed using the Chi Square test with a significance level of p <0.05. The knowledge in oral health of pregnant women was regular, reaching 82.56% in overall, 56.88% in preventive measures, 64.22% in understanding of oral diseases, 61.46% in dental care during pregnancy, and 60.55% in dental development. No differences were detected in the levels of knowledge according to the trimester of pregnancy (p = 0.38), educational level (p = 0.91), urban or rural origin (p = 0.25), or age (p = 0.98). The level of knowledge of oral health of pregnant women attending the Integral Geriatric Medical Center and Geronto IESS in Azogues-Ecuador is regular and is not associated with socio-demographic factors.