Dental anxiety and its influencing factors among pregnant women in Shanghai

To investigate the incidence of dental anxiety in pregnant women and its influencing factors.

A total of 2638 pregnant women in Shanghai were included in this study. Data on demographic and social factors, oral health behaviors and the number of teeth were collected. Participants completed the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS), and an MDAS score greater than 12 was defined as a dental anxiety disorder. An electronic data capture system (EDC) was used to establish a database, and SPSS 22.0 was used to analyze the degree of anxiety and its influencing factors.

A total of 2638 valid questionnaires were received. The incidence of dental anxiety in pregnant women was 34.9%. The results of a univariate analysis showed that the prevalence of dental anxiety in pregnant women (P<0.001) and MDAS score decreased (P<0.05) with increasing age, annual family income, educational level, frequency of cleaning, frequency of brushing and number of teeth. Conversely, the prevalence of dental anxiety in pregnant women (P<0.05) and MDAS score increased (P<0.05) as the number of pregnancies and gingival bleeding increased. Logistic analysis showed that education level “college”(P = 0.003) and “bachelor and above”(P<0.001), frequency of dental cleaning “semiannually or annually”(P = 0.021) and “biennial”(P<0.001), and frequency of brushing “twice a day”(P<0.001) were significantly associated with dental anxiety in pregnant women and were protective factors (OR<1). The frequency of gingival bleeding “Sometimes”(P<0.001) and the number of teeth “≤ 27”(P<0.001) were also significant risk factors for dental anxiety in pregnant women (OR>1).The results of a negative binomial regression analysis of MDAS showed that the frequency of dental cleaning and the number of teeth were significantly associated with dental anxiety. The frequency of dental cleaning "semiannually or annually" (P<0.001) was a protective factor (OR<1) for pregnant women's dental anxiety. The number of teeth ≤27 (P<0.001) was a risk factor (OR>1) for dental anxiety in pregnant women.

Educational level, teeth cleaning frequency, teeth brushing frequency, gingival bleeding, and the number of teeth influence dental anxiety in pregnant women. To effectively reduce the prevalence of dental anxiety, dentists should attach great importance to it in clinical practice and enhance pregnant women's awareness of oral hygiene maintenance by disseminating relevant health care knowledge.