Oral Health Status during Pregnancy in Mangalore

Aim: To assess the oral health status of pregnant and non-pregnant women in the age group of 18 to 35 years in Mangalore. Materials and Methods: The oral health status of 153 pregnant and 168 non-pregnant women in the designated age group who presented at the outpatient department of a private hospital in Mangalore over a period of 6 months (june 2011-November 2011) was evaluated by various indices including the oral hygiene simplified index (OHI-S), decayed, missing, filled, teeth Index (DMFT) periodontal Index by Russell (PI) Results : The frequency of occurrence of dental caries in pregnant women was not significantly different from (p=0.659) from that in non-pregnant women, however the OHI-S value (1.031±0.998) was significantly higher (p<.001) in pregnant women than that (0.592±0.464) in non-pregnant women. Similarly the periodontal index tended to be significantly higher (P<0.001) in pregnant women (0.737±0.476) than that in non-pregnant women (0.378±0.401) Conclusion: Indices of oral health tended to be higher in pregnant than in non-pregnant women, suggesting a poorer oral health status in pregnancy in this setting.