Individual barriers to dental care of pregnants: A qualitative study

Objectives: To identify and analyse individual barriers to dental care of pregnant womem enrolled on National Primary Health Care Program locally named Programa Saúde da Família (PSF). Methods: A qualitative approach was used in this study. Data were collected through focus groups with pregnant women selected by purposive sampling. Results: Pregnant women who participated in this study described the following barriers: Lack of perceived need represented by beliefs that discouraged women to go to the dentist during pregnancy, lack of importance of oral health, lack of importance of teeth, low appreciation of results of dental treatment, fear of reprimands from dentists, fear of pain; financial considerations and difficulty of access to dental care such as difficulty in getting an appointment, fear of leaving home early in order to book an appointment with the dentist, difficulty to be seen by a dentist who discourages women to go to the dentist during pregnancy, getting time off from work, difficulty of having money to pay public transport to go to the dentist, difficulty in asking questions about dental care due to an unknown environment. Conclusion: Individual barriers to dental care pointed out by pregnant women of this study are mainly related to social and educational conditions of the population studied. The reality experienced by these pregnant women shows the straight relationship between health and social determinants of health represented by income, transport, environment, education and culture.

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