Table 3.

Main themes and sub-themes of beliefs about oral health during pregnancy among a sample of pregnant women recruited from the Family Medicine Obstetrics Clinic, Southwestern Ontario.

Concept	Sub-themes	n	Verbatim examples
Beliefs about the impact of oral health on pregnancy (n = 46)	Risk of infection	16	“Bacterial infection might be absorbed by the fetus”
			“Possible serious infection”
			“If not treated it could affect their mouth and cause worse effects if not treated”
	Adverse pregnancy outcomes	5	“Gingivitis and tartar can cause premature childbirth”
	General health of the mother	5	“Maintaining a good oral health may reduce the chance of diseases and also mental wellbeing”
			“Poor dental care can lead to infections carried through body via blood”
	Other	9	“Baby's oral health comes from mother”
			“Bad teeth can lead to issues with eating and pretty much everything else”
			“If I feel pain, my child will feel it”
			“By the bacteria that I can transmit by the saliva”
Beliefs about the impact of dental treatment on pregnancy (n = 53)	Negative impacts of Medications	12	“If I take antibiotic, it can be dangerous for my child”
			“Chemicals might be harmful for the fetus”
	Negative impacts of Dental X-rays	11	“X-ray can be harmful”
	Negative impacts of Anesthetics	10	“I think anesthesia can be harmful”
			“I believe it can as they cannot use freezing or anesthesia on me due to pregnancy”
			“Anesthesia can affect the baby”
			“X-ray or anesthetic agents are not good in pregnancy”
	Positive aspects of dental treatment	7	“Eradicating an infection would probably be beneficial”
			“Without proper care it can make things more difficult”
			“…it can help quality of life”.
			“In a positive way by catching something before it's too late”
			“Helping issues get resolved or not get worse”
	Treatment-specific risk	5	“Depending on treatment, certain things are not recommended during pregnancy”
			Only if I need surgery or anesthesia
	Other	5	“Treatment can affect pregnancy if poor hygiene occurs in dental clinic”
			“Having dental treatment can increase complications during pregnancy which can affects the fetus with tooth extraction, high chance of bleeding may happen”
			“Irritability due to pain”
			“High chance of bleeding may happen”
			“Maybe temporary bacteremia after a cleaning”
Beliefs about the impact of pregnancy on oral and dental health (n = 76)	Gingivitis and gum bleeding	27	“I know gingivitis is a concern”
			“Swollen gums, etc. due to pregnancy”
			“I know it could produce bleeding gums”
	Dental caries, tooth sensitivity and pain	19	“Pregnancy increases the cavities”
			“Weakens teeth enamel and affects gum health”
			“I may be more prone to cavities or lose teeth due to lack of adequate calcium”
	Loss of minerals by the fetus	16	“Loss of calcium and potassium”
			“I feel more sensitive, and we lose calcium due to absorption by the baby”
			“Decalcification or some other nutrients”
			“Because the baby is needing and taking everything from mom”
			“Because of calcium level getting low”
			“Having less calcium can degenerate your teeth maybe”
			“I may be more prone to cavities or lose teeth due to lack of adequate calcium”
			“Weakening of teeth/bone because of calcium deficiency”
	Morning sickness and gag reflux	9	“Stomach acid from morning sickness can affect your oral/dental health”
	Hormonal changes	7	“Hormones affect oral health”
			“…and hormones can also affect dental health”
			“Due to cavities + gums swelling because of hormonal changes”
	Diet	4	“Eating habits change”
	Delaying dental treatments during pregnancy	2	“Pregnancy can postpone certain dental procedures and cause them to possible become worse before pregnancy is over and you can receive treatment”
			“Along with immunity, dental health is compromised during pregnancy”