Factors associated with pre-pregnancy dental cleaning among women in West Virginia: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2009-2010

Background: Oral health represents an integral component of women’s health. Research suggests that pre-pregnancy is the optimal time to intervene in women’s oral health to reduce the burden of oral diseases and its detrimental consequences.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the association between socio-demographic, economic, health-related lifestyle factors and their association with pre-pregnancy dental cleaning in West Virginia (WV).

Method: We conducted a population-based secondary data analysis using WV-PRAMS 2009-10 survey. Our population consisted of 3,050 women who answered questions about pre-pregnancy dental cleaning.

Results: Approximately 47% women visited a dentist during the 12 months before pregnancy. Logistic regression model results demonstrate that women who were more likely to have a pre-pregnancy cleaning were non-Hispanic whites compared to other racial/ethnic backgrounds (OR=1.94; 95%CI: 1.06-3.06), women with greater than high-school education compared to less than high-school education (OR=1.78; 95%CI: 1.22-2.59), married compared to unmarried (OR=1.32; 95%CI: 1.02-1.69), less than age 20 compared to ages 20-29 (OR=2.69; 95%CI: 1.82-3.95), private health insurance compared to uninsured (OR=2.67; 95%CI: 2.00-3.57), physically active compared to inactive (OR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.37-2.1), and normal weight compared to obese women (OR=1.43; 95% CI: 1.10-1.86). 

Conclusion: Identifying characteristics that serve as barriers to dental care among pre-pregnant women in WV is important in addressing the oral health disparities in the state among this special population. Improving the oral health of this population can prevent unnecessary dental procedures during pregnancy and potentially minimize the risk of oral diseases during pregnancy.