Description:
The actuality of the topic. Oral health is a part of overall health and quality of life. Pregnancy is a very important period for every woman, when she faces numerous body changes, which, in their turn, may affect oral health. Pregnant women should be particularly careful about their oral health as pregnancy gingvinite and periodontal diseases increase the risk of preterm delivery and other pregnancy complications (pacauskienė et al, 2015). Healthy mouth is the first step towards oral health (Bendinskaitė et al, 2015). The research aim - Pregnant women’s awareness of oral hygiene. The main tasks: 1. To discuss pregnancy-related body changes and their impact on oral health. 2. To describe the importance of the professional individual oral hygiene and its principles during pregnancy. 3. To determine changes in pregnant women’s awareness of oral hygiene. The research methods. A quantitative study has been performed involving 128 pregnant women. Questioning of the respondents was used to reveal pregnant women’s attitude towards oral hygiene. The obtained data were analysed. The research results. Study results show that the majority of pregnant women experience pregnancy-related changes in mouth cavity, which in turn require changes in oral hygiene pattern. The conclusions. Analysis of scientific literature showed that pregnancy is one of the most memorable periods of female life, which brings many changes to a woman’s body. These changes may have negative effect on oral health and foetal development. Summary of the data obtained evidences that pregnant women experience certain changes in mouth cavity and they usually treat seriously their oral hygiene issues, but they tend to search information about oral hygiene on internet rather than seeking dental hygienists’ support and advices.
