A study was done to determine dental knowledge and gingival health of pregnant women.

The survey was done on 208 antenatal women attending Government Maternity Hospital, Chennai. The dental knowledge was assessed by a close-ended questionnaire. Oral hygiene and gingival health were assessed using Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified and Gingival Index. Statistical analysis using McNemars Chi Square Test and Karl Pearson's Correlation test were done to evaluate the data.

More than 96.6% (201) of the women had good dental knowledge. Mild, moderate and severe gingivitis was found to be 49.5% (103), 46.6% (97) and 3.8% (8), respectively. 7.2% (15), 66.8% (139) and 26% (54) had good, fair and poor oral hygiene, respectively. There was a statistically significant moderate positive correlation between the OHI-S and GI scores (p = 0.001, Karl Pearson's Correlation Coefficient = 0.57).

Women should be educated on good oral hygiene practices so as to minimise prevalence of gingivitis during pregnancy.