Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of prenatal care practitioners regarding oral health in pregnancy-A systematic review

BackgroundHormonal and behavioral changes during pregnancy may impact the oral health of women, which can influence the pregnancy course. Prenatal care practitioners (PCP) must be aware of this bidirectional relation in order to include an oral assessment in routine prenatal care. ObjectivesTo characterize the knowledge and attitudes of PCP regarding oral health in pregnant women. Search StrategyThe search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Lilacs, Scopus, and Embase on May 2022. Selection CriteriaPeer-reviewed cross-sectional studies published in English within the last 5 years that assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PCP towards oral health in pregnancy were selected. Data Collection and AnalysisData were standardly extracted by the three reviewers from the selected articles and their bias was assessed. Main ResultsFrom a total of 996 articles, 24 were selected. Overall, most PCP have an adequate level of knowledge regarding the importance of oral health during pregnancy. Although several professionals reported referring their patients to a dentist, the attitudes and practices of the majority of PCP were still inadequate. ConclusionsPCP are aware of the importance of oral health during pregnancy but still lack translating this knowledge into clinical practice.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The PhD fellowship of MJA was supported by FCT/MCTES scholarship with the reference SFRH/BD/144982/2019