Factors influencing the provision of oral health practices by antenatal care providers: a systematic review

Background: Antenatal care providers are recommended to promote oral health during pregnancythrough the provision of oral health practices, but studies have indicated that providers remain unclearand inconstant in adopting these practices into routine care. Therefore, the objective was to undertakea systematic review of the current oral health practices of antenatal care providers, and the factors(barriers and facilitators) that influence antenatal care providers’ oral health practices for promotingoral health to women during pregnancy.Methods Qualitative and quantitative studies were systematically searched within four databases(database inception-October 2020). Studies were selected if they were published in English andconducted in developed countries. Thematic analysis was employed where data from the includedstudies were grouped and interpreted according to major themes and were inductively categorisedwithin a multilevel framework. Results A total of 3,519 antenatal care providers were included across twenty-six studies. Rates ofreported oral health practices among antenatal care providers varied considerably. The most reportedbarriers related to providers limited oral health knowledge, concerns with dental costs, and absence oforganisational referral processes. The most reported facilitators related to providers level of oralhealth knowledge, patient prompt, and access to informational and educational resources.Conclusions Further efforts are needed to address the range of barriers identified in this review andsupport antenatal care providers clinical practice behaviours. This includes improved interprofessionaleducation, training opportunities, and integrated healthcare models