Oral Care during Pregnancy: Attitudes of Brazilian Public Health Professionals

There is little information about health professionals' behavior regarding oral health care during pregnancy. We evaluated attitudes of obstetricians/gynecologists, nurses, and dentists working at a public community service towards pregnant women's oral health. Health professionals responded to a self-applied questionnaire. Cluster analysis identified two clusters of respondents; Chi-square, Student's t test, and logistic regression were used to compare the two clusters in terms of the independent variables. Respondents were categorized into cluster 1 'less favorable' (n = 159) and cluster 2 'more favorable' (n = 124) attitudes. Professionals that had attended a residency or specialization program (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.15-3.77, p = 0.016) and worked exclusively at the public service (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.10-4.20, p = 0.025) presented more favorable attitudes. Obstetricians/gynecologists (OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.09-0.54, p = 0.001) and nurses (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.29-0.86, p = 0.013) showed less favorable attitudes than dentists. Health care providers' attitudes regarding pregnant women's oral health were related to their occupation, qualification, and dedication to the public service.