SynthesisBMC oral health2025
Oral health knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Oral Hygiene Practices, Knowledge, and Awareness of Periodontal Disease Among Pregnant Women Visiting the Antenatal Clinic at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Changes, Desire, Fear and Beliefs: Women's Feelings and Perceptions About Dental Care During Pregnancy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a Spanish-language questionnaire to assess mothers' knowledge and practices regarding their children's oral health.Revista cientifica odontologica (Universidad Cientifica del Sur)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis systematic review aimed to assess pregnant women's knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward oral health changes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and examine their oral health-seeking behavior during pregnancy.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online (AJOL), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Cochrane Library. Both Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free-text terms related to oral health, knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, antenatal care, pregnancy, and Africa were used. Boolean operators ("AND," "NOT," and "OR") refined the search strategy. Two independent reviewers screened studies and extracted data using Rayyan software, with a third reviewer resolving conflicts. The Robins-E tool assessed the risk of bias.
resultsFifteen of seventy-five studies initially identified met the inclusion criteria after full-text screening. Most employed a cross-sectional design. Findings revealed low oral health-seeking behavior among pregnant women in Africa, attributed to factors such as negative dental experiences, concerns about harm to the unborn child, and the belief that dental care is unnecessary. Many women visited dental clinics only when they noticed significant oral health changes.
conclusionsThe reviewed studies demonstrated a low risk of bias and consistent findings. Pregnancy is a critical period, and poor oral health can adversely affect birth outcomes. Insufficient knowledge and misconceptions deter women from seeking dental care during pregnancy. To address this, targeted oral health education must improve awareness and overcome barriers to seeking care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.