The incidence of maternal dental treatment during pregnancy

Abstract

A questionnaire was given to women who had delivered a live baby to assess their knowledge and uptake of dental treatment during their recent pregnancy of the 496 women surveyed, 95% knew that dental treatment was free on the National Health Service for 1 year after that pregnancy. Despite a high level of knowledge in this area, 64% underwent a dental check-up during pregnancy and of those women who had a check-up 27% had dental restorations placed in their teeth during that pregnancy. Only 26% of women were advised to see a dentist by a health professional. The exact incidence of dental treatment during pregnancy is not known, however, if our area is typical of the United Kingdom, large numbers of women are undergoing dental treatment during pregnancy and the contribution that this makes to maternal and fetal health should be studied.