Midwives’knowledge and practice about oral health in pregnant women,infants and children in Kerman

Maintaining oral health during pregnancy is considered as one of the most important public health issues for mother and children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice of midwives about oral health in pregnant women,infants and children in Kerman. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 118 midwives in Kerman who were selected by census method. Data collection method was a questionnaire consist of 12  and 14 questions about oral health knowledge and practice,  demographic information,which its validity and reliability were confirmed  previously. Data analyzed by SPSS 21 software and using statistical T test, ANOVA and linear regression. The significance level was considered 0.05. In this study, the average age and years of graduation were 38.52±8.84 and 14.60±8.83,respectively. The average years of  service was 15.68±9.36. The mean score of knowledge and practice were8.65±2.46 and 6.97±1.37 respectively. (59.3%)  of participants had moderate knowledge and (63.6%) had favorable practice. There was a direct and significant relationship between the practice of individuals and participation in oral hygiene courses with years of service and information source. participants who were older, had lower awareness. Midwives who worked in the clinic and who had more years of service, had significantly more knowledge. The findings of this study showed that the practice of individuals about oral hygiene in children and infants is favorable and knowledge is moderate. It is recommended to spend oral hygiene courses to raise knowledge.