Oral Hygiene Practices -- Pregnant Women This paper delves into the research that has been conducted on pregnant women with regard to their use of proper oral hygiene practices. The paper is based on the research and findings from an article in the Journal of the American Dental Association (Boggess, et al., 2010).

Oral Hygiene Practices -- Dental Service Utilization -- Pregnant Women

There is ample available literature to justify Boggess' assertion that poor oral practices can lead to loss of teeth, gingivitis, periodontal infection and dental caries. And as Boggess writes on page 553, those oral diseases are found in disproportionate numbers in communities that are in the low-income category, and in communities where ethnic minorities reside. But also, these dental issues are found among pregnant women, in particular among "racial or ethnic minorities and those of low socioeconomic status," Boggess continues (553). The question addressed -- why do available data show that pregnant women from low socioeconomic communities and ethnic and racial minorities are more apt to suffer dental problems -- is answered with empirical data in this article.

To conduct this research, the authors developed a questionnaire that was given to 599 women; along with the results of the questionnaire, the authors gathered demographic data, and used information on the oral hygiene practices to put together the results that are presented. It is interesting that the participants for the dental inquiry were selected from a total...

This was a fortitudinous strategy for Boggess -- going where pregnant women are being observed, in an environment where the women were already made to feel comfortable, and hence they seemed amenable to additional research on their health -- and the researchers clearly made the most of it.
The data that was complied by Boggess and colleagues is impressive in the sense that it answers questions highly relevant to the study. To wit, Latino women were "significantly more likely" than African-American or Caucasian women to report poor dental health; 70% of Latino women reported "fair, poor or very poor" oral health as opposed to 24% of white women and 38% of black women (Boggess, 556). Interestingly, Latino women "were more likely to floss daily" and black women were more apt to brush one or "fewer times" per day (Boggess, 557).

A pertinent question -- why did 442 of the 599 participants fail to receive "routine dental care" during pregnancy? -- is answered with solid data, albeit the responses tended to be vague excuses. Financial shortcomings were given as one reason; but it is worth noting that 32 of the 442 respondents were told "not to go to the dentist" (probably in fear that X-rays or other technologies would harm their unborn child). Other justifications for eschewing dental care while pregnant included: a) a recent dental check-up…