Background: Oral diseases are considered a silent epidemic including among pregnant women. Given the prevalence of oral conditions among pregnant women and the reported association with adverse pregnancy outcomes, there have been suggestions for the inclusion of preventive oral care in routine prenatal care. However, due to the different administrative and funding structure for oral health and prenatal care in Canada, progress towards this integration has been slow. Our study sought to qualitatively explore the views of pregnant women in British Columbia (BC) on the strategies for integrating preventive oral health care into prenatal care services.Methods: A qualitative approach was utilized involving semi-structured interviews with fourteen (14) purposefully selected pregnant women in Vancouver and Surrey, BC. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Study validity was ensured via memoing, field-notes, and member checking.Results: Interviews ranged from 28 to 65 min producing over 140 pages of transcripts. Analysis resulted in three major themes: oral health experiences during pregnancy, perspectives on integration and integrated prenatal oral care, and strategies for addressing prenatal oral health care. A majority of participants were supportive of integrating preventive oral care in routine prenatal services, with referrals identified as a critical strategy. Oral health education was recognized as important before, during, and after pregnancy; oral health assessments should therefore be included in the prenatal care checklist. Limited funding was acknowledged as a barrier to oral health care access, which may explain why few participants visited their dentists during pregnancy. Interprofessional education surfaced as a bridge to provide prenatal oral health education.Conclusion: Pregnant women interviewed in this study support the inclusion of educational and preventive oral care during prenatal care, although their views differed on how such inclusion can be achieved in BC. They advocated the establishment of a referral system as an acceptable strategy for providing integrated prenatal oral health care.

COVID-19 infection is associated with oral lesions which may be exacerbated by tobacco smoking or e-cigarette use. This study assessed the oral lesions associated with the use of e-cigarettes, tobacco smoking, and COVID-19 among adolescents and young people in Nigeria. A national survey recruited 11–23-year-old participants from the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Data were collected using Survey Monkey^®. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted. Statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05. There were 2870 participants, of which 386 (13.4%) were tobacco smokers, 167 (5.8%) e-cigarette users, and 401 (14.0%) were both e-cigarette and tobacco users; and 344 (12.0%) had ever tested positive to COVID-19. Adolescents and young people who smoked tobacco had more than twice the odds of reporting gingival inflammation, oral ulcers, dry mouth, and changes in taste than those who did not smoke. Those who used e-cigarettes had 1.5 times higher odds of reporting oral lesions. Respondents who had COVID-19 infection had higher odds of reporting gingival inflammation and lower odds of reporting dry mouth than those who did not have COVID-19 infection. These findings were significant, and may help clinicians to screen for tobacco use and COVID-19 among adolescents and young people in Nigeria.

This study aimed to assess the proportion of adolescents and young people (AYP) in Nigeria who changed their frequency of e-cigarette use and tobacco smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic; and factors associated with the increase, decrease or no change in e-cigarette use and tobacco smoking (including night smoking). This study was a cross-sectional study of AYP recruited from all geopolitical zones in the country. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine if respondents’ health HIV and COVID-19 status and anxiety levels were associated with changes in e-cigarette use and tobacco smoking frequency. There were 568 (59.5%) e-cigarette users, of which 188 (33.1%) increased and 70 (12.3%) decreased e-cigarette use and 389 (68.5%) increased night e-cigarette use. There were 787 (82.4%) current tobacco smokers, of which 305 (38.8%) increased and 102 (13.0%) decreased tobacco smoking and 534 (67.9%) increased night tobacco smoking. Having a medical condition was associated with lower odds of increased e-cigarette use (AOR:0.649; p = 0.031). High anxiety (AOR:0.437; p = 0.027) and having a medical condition (AOR:0.554; p = 0.044) were associated with lower odds of decreased e-cigarette use. Having COVID-19 symptoms (AOR:2.108; p < 0.001) and moderate anxiety (AOR:2.138; p = 0.006) were associated with higher odds of increased night e-cigarette use. We found complex relationships between having a medical condition, experiencing anxiety, changes in tobacco smoking and e-cigarette use among AYP in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic that need to be studied further.

The World Health Organization’s Global Oral Health Action Plan (GOHAP) 2023–2030 marks a significant shift in global oral health policy, emphasizing universal coverage and primary care integration. This narrative review examines policy implementation approaches across different healthcare...

The study aim was to appraise the relevance and appropriateness of an interprofessional prenatal oral care model among pregnant women and healthcare providers in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with 39 purposefully selected participants (13 pregnant women and 26 healthcare professionals) were used qualitatively to appraise relevance of an existing model. The existing model emphasizes communication and collaboration among multiple health providers for the delivery of integrated prenatal oral care. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and N-Vivo® software. During the first round of interviews, most participants considered the existing model as simple and well-defined but not fully relevant to the BC context. The participants suggested revisions to Steven’s model to incorporate facilitators of integrated care, including interprofessional education, oral health funding, and advocacy for oral healthcare. Participants suggested a different graphical portrayal for the revised model; an implementation guide was also suggested. A revised model based on participants’ feedback, was shared with 14 of the initial participants during secondary interviews. Further evaluation of the appropriateness of the revised model is warranted.