Impact of Social Support on the Periodontal Health among Population of Pregnant Women in Javanese Ethnic Group

The Javanese are the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. 87.84% of Indonesia's population who suffer from dental disease also experience periodontal abnormalities. Severe periodontal diseases in a pregnant women can produce inflammatory mediators that can threaten the fetal placenta thereby increasing the chance of a preterm birth. Social support provided by the family can bring out a positive attitude and motivation for the mother to maintain oher health during their pregnancy.

This study aimed to find out the impact of social support from the closest family of a pregnant women on their periodontal health.

This was an observational analytic study with a cross sectional design. The population in this study is pregnant women from Javanese ethnic group in the Pucang Sewu Public Health Center in Surabaya city, Indonesia. Sample calculation was determined using the simple random sampling technique and the sample size was 49 pregnant women. The data were analyzed using the spearman correlation test and multiple linear regression test.

In this study 65.3% of pregnant women had periodontal abnormalities in the form of gingivitis. This study found several predictor factors that linearly related to the occurrence of periodontal problems in pregnant women, these are: oral hygiene status (p = 0.002); the action of pregnant women in maintaining oral health and oral hygiene (p = 0.026); family support (p = 0.012); family knowledge (p = 0.005).

Family support has an impact on the occurrence of periodontal problems in pregnant women.