Prenatal Dental Visits, Perceived Benefits of Oral Health, and Preterm Birth Outcome, 2009-2021.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated a significant association between maternal oral health and pregnancy complications, including preterm birth (<37 wk). However, research on the impact of dental care utilization during pregnancy on these outcomes has produced both positive and negative results.

Objective: The current study investigated the association between preterm birth and dental care utilization, focusing on dental visits for cleaning during pregnancy as well as the perceived benefits of oral health during pregnancy.

Methods: This secondary data analysis cross-sectional study used data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System in the United States from 2009 to 2021. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between dental variables and preterm birth.

Results: The study included 399,847 women with a recent single live birth, representing 21,218,114 women across 48 states and New York City. After adjusting for factors such as race and ethnicity, age, marital status, medical insurance type, education level, adequacy of prenatal care, and other medical variables associated with preterm birth, women who had dental visits for cleaning during pregnancy had a lower odds of preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.86, 0.93], < 0.001) compared with those who did not. A significant association between prenatal dental cleaning and reduced preterm birth was observed only among women who perceived the benefits of oral health during pregnancy (aOR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.88, 0.97], = 0.002) and among non-Hispanic White women (aOR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.83, 0.93], < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study revealed an inverse relationship between dental cleaning visits during pregnancy and preterm birth outcomes, notably among women who recognized the benefits of oral health and among non-Hispanic White women. The results emphasize the significance of dental visits and the perception of oral health benefits during pregnancy.

Knowledge Transfer Statement: The study demonstrated an inverse association between dental visits for cleaning during pregnancy and preterm birth outcomes, with this relationship being significant among women who perceived the benefits of oral health during pregnancy and among non-Hispanic White women. These findings suggest that both the dental visits and the perception of oral health benefits may be important factors linked to preterm birth outcomes, with potential racial and ethnic variations. Policy makers and clinicians could integrate oral health care and prenatal oral health education into prenatal care as essential components of primary health care to improve both oral and overall health outcomes for women.