Awareness, knowledge and attitude toward the relationship between periodontal health and pregnancy outcomes among obstetrician-gynecologist healthcare professionals in Turkey: Results of 11(th) Turkish-German Gynecological Association Congress based survey

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice behavior of Turkish obstetrician-gynecologists regarding oral healthcare during pregnancy and the association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected Turkish obstetrician-gynecologists using a questionnaire consisting of 26 questions during 11(th) Turkish-German Gynecological Association Congress. Participation in the survey was voluntary. RESULTS: Out of 435 attendees approached, 382 (88%) of the gynecologists at the Congress participated in the written questionnaire. Most of the participants (96.1%) acknowledged a connection between oral health and pregnancy, and 77.5% agreed that periodontal disease may affect the outcome of pregnancy. Moreover, a high proportion of participants were aware of the clinical signs of periodontal diseases, mainly gingival bleeding (92.1%). However, almost 20% of participants thought that dental treatment could be performed safely in the first or last trimester of pregnancy. Only 36.9% of participants recommended guidance on dental examination for their patients during prenatal care. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that Turkish obstetrician-gynecologists have a relatively high degree of knowledge with respect to the relationship between periodontal disease and pregnancy outcomes, but practice behavior was poorly correlated with their knowledge.