Measuring oral health during pregnancy: sensitivity and specificity of a maternal oral screening (MOS) tool.
Midwives can play a key role in promoting the oral health of pregnant women and assessing their oral health status. A maternal oral assessment tool (MOS) was developed and pilot tested by the study investigators to assist midwives in this role and the results were promising. The aim of this study was to undertake further sensitivity and specificity assessment of the MOS tool using two-comparison approaches- the longer oral health screening tool known as the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and an oral assessment by trained study dentists.



Pregnant women were recruited for this study as part of a larger randomised controlled trial of a Midwifery Initiated Oral Health (MIOH) program. Pregnant women completed the MOS and OHIP-14 as part of their initial assessment undertaken by 38 trained and accredited midwives. A dental assessment was conducted for all women in the intervention group using three trained study dentists with high inter rater reliability.



Two hundred and eleven pregnant women participated in the validation of the MOS tool. Results from both approaches found the MOS tool to have high sensitivity, correctly identifying 88-94 % of women at risk of poor dental health, and low specificity (14-21 %).



This study has shown that the MOS tool can be successfully implemented by midwives during a woman's first antenatal visit and can identify up to 94 % of women at risk of poor oral health and needing a dental referral. The tool has the potential to be transferable to other antenatal care providers and could be incorporated into hospital obstetric database systems.



ACTRN12612001271897 , 6thDec 2012, retrospectively registered.
Collaboration for Oral Health Outcomes, Research Translation and Evaluation (COHORTE) Research Group, Western Sydney University, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, University of Sydney, Liverpool BC, Locked Bag 7103, Liverpool, NSW, 1871, Australia. a.george@westernsydney.edu.au.
Ajesh
0000-0002-6795-2546
A
George
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Parramatta, 2150, Australia.
Hannah G
HG
Dahlen
Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, Australia.
Anthony
A
Blinkhorn
Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services, Sydney Dental Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2010, Australia.
Shilpi
S
Ajwani
Sydney Local Health District Oral Health Services, Sydney Dental Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2010, Australia.
Sameer
S
Bhole
Antenatal Services, Camden and Campbelltown Hospitals, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Campbelltown, 2560, Australia.
Sharon
S
Ellis
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, 2150, Australia.
Anthony
A
Yeo
Western Sydney University, University of New South Wales, Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, 2170, Australia.
Emma
E
Elcombe
Centre for Applied Nursing Research, Western Sydney University, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, 1871, Australia.
Ayesha
A
Sadozai
Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Ingham Institute Applied Medical Research, Sydney, 2060, Australia.
Maree
M
Johnson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D009909:Oral Health; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult
Antenatal care; Midwives; Oral health; Pregnancy; Prenatal care; Validation