Poor Oral Health-Related Quality of Life among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impacts of oral health determinants (e.g. frequency of brushing <2 day, poor life style, non-white ethnicity) and clinical oral caries indices (e.g. Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT)) and periodontal disease) on Poor Quality of Life (PQoL) among PW. METHODS The search strategy was restricted to publications in English before December 1, 2019 in the PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. We only included oral diseases considered as public health issues with a global burden. As a result, investigations reporting the frequency of brushing, poor lifestyle behaviours, non-white ethnicity, DMFT scores, and periodontal disease as an outcome were included. The two reviewers resolved any disagreements. Reviewers analyzed the full-texts, considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Also, a manual search of the reference lists was performed on all the selected studies. RESULTS In total, 11 publications were included in the meta-analysis. Findings indicate a positive association between non-white ethnicity and PQoL among PW. Among PW, those who had non-white ethnicity were 1.43 times more likely to have PQoL (OR= 1.43, 95% CI=1.17, 1.70). A positive association between DMFT and poor QoL among PW was also observed. Those who has suffers DMFT were 1.4 times more likely to have poor QoL (OR= 1.4, 95% CI= 1.24, 1.55). CONCLUSIONS Results from this meta-analysis support the need for behavioral interventions for improving oral hygiene in expectant mothers. This could help to decrease periodontal conditions and improve their oral- and general life quality.