Periodontal diseases among pregnant adolescents and young women in Nigeria: a scoping review

Background Gingivitis increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to map the evidence of periodontal diseases in pregnant adolescents and young adults in Nigeria. Methods This scoping review was registered on the Open Science Framework (registration DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HVCD5). A literature search was conducted in August 2024 in two electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed), and EBSCO, and Google Scholar for articles written in English reporting periodontal diseases in pregnant adolescents (15-19 years) and young adults (20-24 years) in Nigeria following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This review excluded abstracts, literature reviews, conference proceedings, letters to the editor, and editorials. Information extracted from the publications that met the inclusion criteria were the study design, study location, sample size, gestation stage, prevalence of periodontal diseases, and identified risk factors for periodontal diseases. A descriptive analysis of the extracted data was conducted. Results Among the 768 articles screened, no study met the eligibility criteria. However, four studies reported on risk factors for periodontal diseases in a sample of 1066 pregnant women age < 20 years to > 40 years that included 202 (18.9%) pregnant adolescents and young adults. The prevalence of periodontal diseases ranged from 45.8 to 100%. One study reported that the highest score of healthy gingivae was among the 20-24 age group; one study reported that prevalence of gingivitis increased with increasing trimester; another reported the highest prevalence of gingival bleeding and the lowest prevalence of calculus in the first trimester, while one study could not establish a statistically significant relationship between periodontal diseases and gestational age. The four studies were conducted in two of Nigeria's six geopolitical zones, and all were hospital-based. Conclusion The lack of generalizable studies on risk factors for periodontal diseases among pregnant adolescents and young adults in Nigeria limits access to evidence for policy and program design. There is a need for broader, representative research to address these gaps.