Oral Health Literacy and Oral Health Knowledge among 2,263 First-time Pregnant Urban Women: A Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study.

Aim: The present study aimed to see the oral health literacy rate among first-time pregnant women across 12 corporate hospital setups in the city of Pune, India.

Materials And Methods: For the survey, the REALD 30 questionnaires were used to assess the adult literacy rate (with 0 being least score and 30 being the highest score) and the knowledge of the participants related to oral health was assessed using a set of 6 questions. The study was carried out for a period of 1 year from January 2018 to December 2018. The total participants at the end of the study were 2,263. All the women were pregnant for the first time, in their 1st trimester of pregnancy. Written consent was taken from all the participants. Epi Info was used to carry out the statistical analysis. All the values less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: The mean REALD 30 score was 23.8 ± 8.34. The REALD score was higher for those with a postgraduate degree; this could be due to more number of participants in the group. There were higher percentages of women with correct answers to all the knowledge-based questions. We observed that there was a positive correlation with the REALD total scores and the correct answers provided to the questions on oral health ( = 0.76). There was a positive correlationship between the REALD scores and the oral health knowledge of the participants.

Conclusion: The educated pregnant women had a high oral health literacy rate. There was a positive correlation of literacy with the REALD 30 score.

Clinical Significance: Healthcare providers should focus on clearing the myths and misconceptions that are still prevalent in a small portion of the urban population.