Distribution of Preventive Dental Care during Pregnancy in Rhode Island, 2012 to 2015.

AIMS: To examine the distribution of preventive dental care for pregnant women in Rhode Island.

METHODS: The data used were obtained from the 2012 to 2015 Rhode Island Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (RIPRAMS). Statistical analyses were conducted for respondents who had valid information for both preventive dental care receipt and race/ethnicity to examine population differences in the receipt of preventive dental care.

RESULTS: Respondents who identified as Hispanic and had more than 12 years of education had higher odds for preventive dental care receipt in Rhode Island between 2012 to 2015 compared to non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, respondents with lower household income were the least likely to have received preventive dental care. This was especially true for black and non-Hispanic women who reported being neither black nor white.

CONCLUSION: Preventive dental care in Rhode Island between 2012 and 2015 did not meet the perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement (PIOHQI) target of 60% in minority populations.