Gisela Berenstein Ajzman¹*, Myriam Shalom², Offer Erez³, Cohen Ornit⁴ and Uri Zilberman²

¹Pediatric Dentistry Department, Goldshlager Dental School, Tel Aviv University, Israel
²Pediatric Dentistry Department, Barzilai University Medical Center, Ashkelon, Israel
³Director (Director Maternity "D" and Obstetrical Day Care Unit, Obstetrics and Gynecology Division), Soroka University Medical Center, Israel
⁴Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel

*Corresponding Author: Gisela Berenstein Ajzman, Pediatric Dentistry Department, Goldshlager Dental School, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Received: June 24, 2021; Published: August 10, 2021

Abstract

Background: Maternal knowledge and awareness may play an essential positive role in the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC) that bears significant risks and even life-threatening infections. Therefore, improving maternal knowledge and practice of oral health during pregnancy may result in lower risks of ECC in toddlers and children.

Aims: To explore post-partum maternal knowledge and awareness of caries and its prevention and elucidate the association between sociodemographic variables and this knowledge.

Design: This survey cohort study of a questionnaire regarding maternal knowledge on oral health habits included 100 parturients at the Soroka University Medical Center, during 2015. 

Results: Mothers had good oral health care habits; however, these habits did not correlate with knowledge and awareness about caries prevention. About 60% of the mothers did not know that caries is a contagious disease. Only 10% of the mothers were referred to a dental check-up during the year prior to delivery. Mothers with academic education had better knowledge than others (p = 0.029). Mothers who gave birth for the first time had significantly less knowledge than experienced ones (p = 0.002). 

Conclusion: Maternal knowledge on oral health hygiene’s is related to her level of education and parity. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate an educational program for pregnant women to promote oral health care and nutritional recommendation to improve caries prevention in children. 

Keywords: Dental Caries; Oral Health Care; Mother's Education; Pregnancy; Post-Partum

References

1. Selwitz RH., et al. “Dental caries”. Lancet9555 (2007): 51-59.
2. Featherstone JD. “The continuum of dental caries--evidence for a dynamic disease process”. Journal of Dental Research 83 (2004): C39-C42.
3. Caufield PW., et al. “Initial acquisition of mutants streptococci by infants: evidence for a discrete window of infectivity”. Journal of Dental Research 72 (1993): 37-45.
4. Ribeiro NM RMA. “Breastfeeding and early childhood caries: a critical review”. The Journal of Pediatrics 80 (2004): S199-S210.
5. Sheiham A. “Dental caries affects body weight, growth and quality of life in pre-school children”. The British Dental Journal10 (2006): 625-626.
6. Stewart RE and Hale KJ. “The paradigm shift in the etiology, prevention, and management of dental caries: its effect on the practice of clinical dentistry”. The Journal of the California Dental Association 31 (2003): 247-251.
7. Berkowitz RJ. “Mutans streptococci: acquisition and transmission”. Paediatric Dentistry 28 (2006): 106-198.
8. Berkowitz RJ. “Causes, treatment and prevention of early childhood caries: a microbiologic perspective”. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association 69 (2003): 304-307.
9. Tinanoff N and Palmer CA. “Dietary determinants of dental caries and dietary recommendations for preschool children”. Refuat Hapeh Vehashinayim 20 (2003): 8-78.
10. Hirsch GB., et al. “A simulation model for designing effective interventions in early childhood caries”. Preventing Chronic Disease 9 (2012): 110219.
11. Kohler B and Andreen I. “Influence of caries-preventive measures in mothers on cariogenic bacteria and caries experience in their children”. Archives of Oral Biology 39 (1994): 907-911.
12. Brambilla E., et al. “Caries prevention during pregnancy: results of a 30-month study”. Journal of the American Dental Association7 (1998): 871-877.
13. Ismail AI., et al. “Determinants of early childhood caries in low-income African American young children”. Paediatric Dentistry 30 (2008): 289-296.
14. Kim Seow W. “Environmental, maternal, and child factors which contribute to early childhood caries: a unifying conceptual model”. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 22 (2012): 168.
15. Niji R., et al. “Maternal age at birth and other risk factors in early childhood caries”. Paediatric Dentistry 32 (2010): 493-498.
16. Burt BA. “The use of sorbitol- and xylitol-sweetened chewing gum in caries control [published correction appears in”. Journal of the American Dental Association4 (2006): 447.
17. Edgar WH. “A Role for Sugar-Free Gum in Oral Health”. Journal of Investigative and Clinical Dentistry 10 (1999): 89-93.
18. Soderling E., et al. “Influence of maternal xylitol consumption on mother-child transmission of mutans streptococci: 6-year follow-up”. 35.3 (2001): 173-177.
19. Ribeiro LG., et al. “The effect of different formulations of chlorhexidine in reducing levels of mutans streptococci in the oral cavity: A systematic review of the literature”. Journal of Dentistry 5 (2007): 359-370.
20. Xiao J., et al. “Prenatal Oral Health Care and Early Childhood Caries Prevention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. Caries Research 53 (2019): 411-421.
21. Hale KJ. “Oral Health Risk Assessment Timing and Establishment of the Dental Home”. Pediatrics 111 (2003): 1113.
22. Position paper on Fluoride in dentistry. Dental health department. Ministry of Health Israel 18.7 (2011).
23. Fluoride recommendations for Infants. American Dental Association Guidelines (2020).

Citation

Citation: Gisela Berenstein Ajzman., et al. “Maternal Awareness and Knowledge of Proper Oral Health during Pregnancy and Post-Delivery and Caries Transmission to their Children”. Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 5.9 (2021): 60-67.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Gisela Berenstein Ajzman., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.