Lithuania: focus on oral health during pregnancy

The Lithuanian Society of Periodontology dedicated European Gum Health Day 2018 to the topic of gum diseases during pregnancy.

Using translated materials from the Oral Health & Pregnancy project, launched last year by the EFP in partnership with Oral-B, the society handed out leaflets to all major pregnancy-care centres in Lithuania as well as during a conference for pregnant women.

The society translated the project’s guidelines for oral-health professionals and recommendations for women and placed them on its website so that they can be used by its members.  

During the preparation of these materials, the society worked with the Lithuanian Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which also distributed material from the Oral Health & Pregnancy project to its members, publishing the recommendations for women and the guidelines for non-dentistry health professionals on its website. Future conferences organised by the obstetricians and gynaecologists’ association will include lectures about oral health during pregnancy.

Jūratė Žekonienė, president of the Lithuanian Society of Periodontology, gave a speech on gum diseases in infants and children at a paediatricians’ conference on May 11, at which she highlighted European Gum Health Day and the importance of healthy gums to overall health and well-being.

The LRT national television channel carried an interview with society member Daiva Gelažienė and Diana Ramašauskaitė, president of the Lithuanian Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which focused on oral-health issues in pregnant women and European Gum Health Day.

Articles about oral health and pregnancy that mentioned European Gum Health Day appeared in Delfi, Lithuania’s biggest news website, in a magazine for mothers, and on the official website of the Lithuanian Dental Chamber.

“We believe that this year we managed to raise awareness of the oral-health issues of pregnant women and send a strong message that gum health should never be forgotten or neglected,” said Jūratė Žekonienė. “We were very happy to join European Gum Health Day and find it a very important initiative to talk about the gum-health issues we face in our day-to-day work.”