Predictors of Dental Cleaning Over a Two-year Time Period Around Pregnancy Among Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Race Subgroups in Hawai'i, 2009-2011.

Oral health disease is linked to several chronic diseases including adverse health outcomes around pregnancy. Optimizing a woman's oral health before, during, and after pregnancy can impact her health and the health of her children. Preventive, diagnostic, and restorative dental services can be done safely and effectively including during pregnancy. We examined data from the 2009-2011 Hawai'i Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to assess the prevalence of dental cleanings over an approximately 2 year (Median: 2.0 years, Range:1.6-2.5 years) time period (12 months before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and in the first few months postpartum) among 4,735 mothers who recently had a live birth. Adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) of dental cleanings were calculated for both race and Medicaid/QUEST insurance status adjusting for maternal age and education. During a two-year span before, during, and after pregnancy an estimated 60.8% of women had dental cleanings. Native Hawaiian (APR=0.87; 95% CI=0.80-0.93), Other Pacific Islander (0.70; 0.58-0.83), Filipino (0.90; 0.82-0.97), and Chinese (0.76; 0.63-0.93) mothers were less likely to have had dental cleanings compared to white mothers. Additionally, mothers with Medicaid/QUEST health insurance (0.73; 0.68-0.79) were less likely to have had cleanings. More than one-third of recently pregnant mothers did not have dental cleanings in the approximately two-year time period. Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, Filipino, and Chinese mothers and those on Medicaid/QUEST health insurance were less likely to receive regular dental care. Identification of the reasons why these populations do not seek regular dental care can inform programmatic efforts to improve oral health outcomes for women and families.