KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTISES OF NURSES AND MIDWIVES TOWARDS ORAL AND DENTAL HEALTH CARE DURING PREGNANCY: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: This study aimed to determine nurses' and midwives' knowledge, views and practices about oral and dental health during pregnancy. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 378 nurses/midwives in Istanbul between 5 and 30 May 2021. The data was collected using the self-administered questionnaire developed by the researchers. Results: The mean age of the participants was 32.89 +/- 8.25 years, 92.1% of the participants stated that pregnant should be guided on ODH, and 86.8% of the participants reported that ODH for pregnant should be a part of prenatal care, but 78% of them did not provide information to pregnant. 56.3% of the participants believed that nurses and midwives have limited contribution to the ODH of pregnant. 28.8% of the participants said that they had sufficient training to inform pregnant about ODH. Conclusions: As a result, it has been determined that health professionals do not have enough knowledge about oral and dental health in pregnancy.