Impact of Minimally Invasive Restorative Techniques on Pregnant Women Oral Health Related Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract Background: Women tend to delay dental treatment due to the misconception about the safety of dental procedures during pregnancy which can negatively affect their quality of life. Minimally invasive restorative techniques offer alternatives for caries treatment and can help improve their oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) during this stage.Aim of the study was to compare the effect of chemo-mechanical caries removal method using Papacarie-Duo and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) on the OHRQoL of pregnant women.Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2019 and included 162 pregnant women visiting public family health centers in Alexandria, Egypt, with mild to moderate dental pain due to caries. Participants were randomly assigned into Papacarie-Duo group(n=82) and ART group (n=80). The outcome variable was percent change in OHRQoL measured by oral health impact profile (OHIP-14). T test/ Mann Whitney U test were used to compare groups and a multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the factors affecting percent change in OHIP-14 scores after 6 months.Results: A significant reduction (P< 0.002) was noted in OHIP-14 between baseline and 6 months indicating improvement in OHRQoL of pregnant women in Papacarie-Duo and ART groups (16.26% and 18.91% respectively) with no significant difference between groups in bivariate analysis (P=0.120). The multiple linear regression model revealed significantly greater reduction in OHIP-14 scores in the Papacarie-Duo than the ART group (regression coefficient= 4.03, 95% confidence interval: 0.652,7.409, P= 0.020).Conclusion: Minimally invasive restorative techniques, such as ART and chemo-mechanical caries removal using Papacarie- Duo can improve the OHRQoL of pregnant women suffering from mild to moderate dental caries.Trial registration: ID NCT04619264 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/); November 6 2020, retrospective registration. (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04619264?term=NCT04619264&draw=2&rank=1)